Today, the Norwegian Consumer Council has filed a complaint against Google. Based on new research Google is accused of using deceptive design and misleading information, which results in users accepting to be constantly tracked.
Google tracks users through “Location History” and “Web & App Activity”, which are settings integrated into all Google accounts. For users of mobile phones with Android, such as Samsung and Huawei phones, this tracking is particularly difficult to avoid.
Google is processing incredibly detailed and extensive personal data without proper legal grounds, and the data has been acquired through manipulation techniques, says Gro Mette Moen, acting head of unit, digital services in the Norwegian Consumer Council.
Is anybody surprised by this?
Unfortunately Android is my preferred phine OS. I wish there was a third platform that I like. I know iOS is much more private but Apple rubs me the wrong way for other reasons.
walid,
+1
Exactly my feeling too. A duopoly doesn’t make a healthy market and sometimes both companies are despicable. I’ve complained about both for so long, and yet they’re often the only viable choices that consumers have. It’s one of those things that I’m constantly having to come to terms with and yet the disappointment it both is never ending. I know many people feel the same way, but without enough marketshare third parties have become too irrelevant to even support. I don’t know if they’re any match for these corps, but here’s to the Norwegian Consumer Council, go get ’em tiger.