Cross-channel personalization: what works now across generations and channels
From Gen Z to Boomers, today’s customers expect personalization. Compliance shouldn't be a barrier.
Topic: Privacy law
How to remove court records from Google: 3 effective strategies
Protect your reputation from old court records appearing in Google searches. Learn ways to suppress unwanted legal information online.
How to evolve your PPC measurement strategy for a privacy-first future
Overcome cookie limitations, leverage first-party data and implement diverse attribution methods for accurate insights.
YouTube escalates war on ad blockers
YouTube users who use ad blockers to avoid advertising on the platform will now see alerts or experience buffering issues.
3 ways search marketers can prepare for the big cookie crumble
These initiatives will help you optimize targeting, refine media mix, and improve performance reporting without third-party cookie tracking.
GA4 ramps up Protected Audiences API rollout and adds enhanced conversions
Google Analytics is improving privacy features in anticipation of third-party cookie deprecation next year.
Countdown to GA4: 100 days to make the switch
Like it or not, the countdown to GA4 is winding down. Here's what you need to know.
Google agrees to pay up in 12 year class-action lawsuit
The settlement would bring an end to a privacy-focused consumer class action lawsuit in California
Alexa users claim Amazon is using voice recordings to target ads
Alexa users have been speculating for many years that Amazon has been using their private conversation data for ad targeting.
How GA4, data modeling and Google Ads work together
Google is moving quickly to a future of data modeling. Here's how paid search marketers need to approach the analytics shift.
Meta rumored to develop ‘Basic Ads’ in response to recent privacy changes
The Basic ads may work for brand advertisers but not so well for any companies that need granular targeting and lead generation.
Are you showing Gmail ads to customers who have unsubscribed?
Running Discovery, Smart Shopping, or Performance Max campaigns? Want to avoid hearing from angry customers? Then read this.
Virginia’s privacy legislation and targeted ads; Tuesday’s daily brief
Plus, local marketing masters and the headless CMS
SearchCap: SMX East session recap, Google privacy control updates, Microsoft AI
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: SMX East session recap: Aligning marketing with your customer journey Oct 24, 2018 by Greg Sterling The session offered a sophisticated blueprint to calibrate marketing, sales and content for different personas […]
Search marketing to enjoy ‘late-stage renaissance,’ according to analyst firm
Privacy, brand safety and other factors will make paid search even more attractive to marketers going forward, according to Forrester Research.
Google facing $1 billion in potential liability with UK class action
The case stems from bypassing the cookie-blocking settings on the iPhone's Safari browser in 2012.
Google wins ‘right to be forgotten’ case in Japanese high court
Court rules that search results are a form of speech entitled to protection.
Consumer Group Petitions FTC To Bring Europe’s Right-To-Be-Forgotten To US
Consumer Watchdog argues values behind RTBF are already part of US law.
SearchCap: Spain Wants Back, Google News Archive & AdWords Countdown
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: New Widget In AdWords Makes Countdown Copy Easy Quickly set up dynamic countdowns in ads without having to type variable strings. Quickly set up dynamic countdowns in ads without having to […]
EU Issues “Right To Be Forgotten” Criteria
Last week the EU issued formal guidelines surrounding the so-called “Right to Be Forgotten” (RTBF). They are intended to help privacy regulators and search engines implement the RTBF. And they include some controversial elements. I’ve embedded the full document below and won’t try and treat it comprehensively. Below are the formal considerations that the EU […]
Bing Has Seen Tiny Number Of “Right to Be Forgotten” Requests So Far
Reputation VIP, which operates the Forget.me website in Europe, has said that Microsoft/Bing is starting to implement “Right to Be Forgotten” (RTBF) requests. The company released a study of RTBF requests and Google in October, which was generally consistent with Google’s own subsequently released data. Forget.me said initially that 60 percent of RTBF requests to Google were being denied. Google itself reported 58 percent. […]
World War II, Communism Subtext In Right To Be Forgotten
From an American legal perspective, the recently established European Right to Be Forgotten (RTBF) is a disaster. It’s a confusing, vague, impractical and possibly even dangerous decision. But from a European historical perspective, it makes considerable sense. The different histories of the U.S. and Europe in the 20th Century have shaped different attitudes and rules […]
UK House Of Lords Condemns Right To Be Forgotten
The House of Lords in the UK has little power in government or policy making except at the margins. Similarly, the British upper house’s recent condemnation of the European Right to Be Forgotten (RTBF) will have little practical impact in the UK or across Europe. Still it’s a dissenting voice from within a European government. […]
Google’s EU Censorship Removes Links For More Than Just Names On Their Own
It turns out that those in the European Union asking Google to “forget” links they don’t like that appearing for searches on their names are also getting links removed for any search that involves their names and additional words, rather than just their names alone. Until now, it wasn’t clear that Google was removing links […]
Supreme Court Rules Street View “Wiretapping” Class Action Can Proceed Against Google
According to the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Supreme Court will not review a U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision allowing a class-action lawsuit that argues Google violated the federal “Wiretap Act” when it intercepted private email and other personal data. The appellate court decision thus stands and Google must confront the lawsuit. The case followed […]
After 5 Years In Dispute, Greece Approves Google Maps Street View Images
ABC.com reported yesterday that Google Maps has launched street view images in Greece. According to the story, Greece authorities blocked Google Maps Street Views five years ago because of privacy issues. According to ABC.com: Company officials said the service went live after extensive and detailed negotiations with the country’s Data Protection Authority, which last year […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, April 4, 2014
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Bing Testing New Search Results Design Bing is testing a new search results layout that changes the color of the logo from gray to the yellow/orange, changes the color of the […]
Google Gets Another Street View Privacy Fine — In Italy
It seems like each European country is taking its turn fining Google for some privacy infraction. This time, it’s Italy and involves Street View. Google has reportedly paid a roughly $1.4 million (1 million EUR) fine. According a story in Reuters, the issue this time was the failure to clearly mark Street View cars during […]
French Privacy Agency’s Site Crashes, After Demanding Link From Google France Home Page
Be careful what you wish for. In this case, the French privacy agency CNiL demanded that Google link from the Google France home page to a privacy ruling made against it. Google complied — and now the traffic seems to have slowed and sometimes crashed the CNiL website. Our story on Marketing Land has more […]
Google Remarketing Ads Found To Violate Canadian Privacy Law; To Revamp Ad Review System By June
Google has agreed to several concessions after an investigation by Canada’s Office of the Privacy Commissioner found Google in violation of Canada’s privacy rights for the use of sensitive health history in remarketing campaigns. The investigation began last January, when a man complained that his personal health history was being used for ad targeting purposes. […]
With Amazing Chutzpah Google Claims It Can’t Be Sued In UK Courts
Last year Google was embroiled in controversy over its circumvention of the Safari browser’s cookie-privacy settings (on the iPhone and beyond). As a result the company paid a $22.5 million fine to settle the case with the US FTC approximately a year ago. The FTC summarizes the facts that lead to the settlement: [F]or several months […]
Google Says No To FBI’s National Security Letter, At Least This Time
Bloomberg News reports Google has filed a petition against a government request for information after receiving a “National Security Letter.” The details of the requested information are currently not disclosed, as you would imagine. Bloomberg says it is rare for a company to fight back after receiving such a request from a government agency. Reportedly […]
Report: Google To Settle “WiSpy” Investigation With Attorneys General For Measly $7 Million
According to AllThingsD, Google is about to settle the so-called “WiSpy” investigation with 30 US state Attorneys Generals. Google will admit no wrongdoing and pay $7 million according to the report. The article says the settlement will be announced next week. In early 2012, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) concluded its own WiSpy investigation with no finding of […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 14, 2012
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google In Privacy Flap With Germans Over New iOS Maps According to a report in Computerworld, Google has violated German data protection and privacy rules with its new Google Maps app […]
Czech Republic Gives Google Green Light To Resume Street View
After more than two years, and a few important concessions from Google, the Czech Republic is letting the company resume its Street View service. As Czech Position reports, Google has agreed to several conditions put forth by the Czech Office for Personal Data Protection: Google will take photos closer to ground level to avoid photographing […]
Facebook Downplays Significance Of FTC Privacy Settlement
Facebook and the US Federal Trade Commission announced their formal privacy settlement today. Facebook and the federal agency each put their spin on it, with Facebook saying it was very similar to “agreements” previously reached with Google and Twitter: Recently, the US Federal Trade Commission established agreements with Google and Twitter that are helping to […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, August 19, 2011
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Facebook’s ‘Like’ Button Declared Illegal In Germany Citing violations to the countries strict privacy laws, the Independent Center for Privacy Protection (ULD) called for all Facebook ‘like’ plugins to be removed […]
Belgium Says Google Broke Privacy Law, Offers Cash Settlement
Google is considering a settlement offer from federal prosecutors in Belgium who say the company broke national privacy laws when it collected personal data from unsecured WiFi networks via its Street View vehicles. According to Bloomberg, prosecutors have offered Google a €150,000 penalty (currently about $215,000 USD) for the gaffe that Google has repeatedly said […]
Reputation And The “Right To Be Forgotten”: Spain’s Radical Approach To Search And Personal Privacy
Call it “privacy 2.0.” Last year Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg famously (and incorrectly) said that privacy is no longer a social norm. However one has only to witness the uproar this week over Facebook Messenger and the exposure of phone contacts to see that privacy isn’t dead. In Europe — Spain in particular — privacy […]
Judge Rejects Google’s Motion To Toss Out Street View Lawsuit
Google is currently considering its options after a federal judge gave the go-ahead for a group of consolidated lawsuits to proceed against the company over a potential violation of the Federal Wiretap Act. Wednesday’s decision by US District Judge James Ware, first reported by Wired, actually dismissed two of the three claims against Google, but […]