Original title: Alphabet Inc-CL CAnother antitrust complaint: the cancellation of Cookie by Chrome browser affects industry revenue source: Chronicle

According to reports, the Open Network campaign (The Movement for an Open Web), an industry organization representing advertisers, publishers and technology companies, today complained to the EU about Alphabet Inc-CL C, saying that Alphabet Inc-CL C's plan to cancel Cookie by Chrome browser was an antitrust act that would seriously affect the revenue of advertisers and publishers.

Alphabet Inc-CL C announced early last year that support for third-party Cookie in Chrome browsers would be phased out in the next two years, citing higher requirements for privacy and data control rights. Alphabet Inc-CL C plans to promote her "privacy sandbox" (Privacy Sandbox) technology after stopping support for third-party Cookie.

But publishers and advertising technology companies have complained that what Alphabet Inc-CL C calls a "privacy sandbox" will limit their ability to collect information about online users, thus affecting their ability to provide more valuable advertising.

Currently, most Internet users are using Alphabet Inc-CL C's Chrome browser. Clearly, this decision will upend the current online advertising market. Cookie has been the cornerstone of digital advertising for 25 years, and the third-party Cookie is the most commonly used tool for accurate advertising across platforms.

Tim Cowen, a lawyer representing the Open Network campaign, said today that Alphabet Inc-CL C's move would give him more power to decide which data can be shared online and with whom. "Alphabet Inc-CL C said that they are strengthening the 'privacy' of end users, but it is not, but it is a creepy act of data mining," he said. "

The European Commission confirmed today that it has received complaints from the Open Network campaign and will evaluate it in accordance with standard procedures. In June this year, the European Union launched an investigation into Alphabet Inc-CL C's technical service for online display advertising. The European Commission also said at the time that it would also investigate whether Alphabet Inc-CL C unfairly prevented competitors from accessing user data and canceled privacy changes on Cookie.

Alphabet Inc-CL C declined to comment on the Open Network campaign's complaint, but reiterated his previous position that the "privacy sandbox" is an open initiative designed to provide users with strong privacy while also supporting publishers.

At present, the British antitrust agency Competition and Market Administration (CMA) and the US Department of Justice are investigating Alphabet Inc-CL C's "privacy sandbox" plan. CMA said these measures could weaken publishers' capabilities and undermine competition in the digital advertising market, thus further strengthening Alphabet Inc-CL C's market power.

As a result, Alphabet Inc-CL C announced in June that he would postpone the schedule for Chrome browsers to phase out third-party tracking Cookie from 2022 to 2023 to give the digital advertising industry more time to plan more privacy-conscious targeted ads.