Google ends sale of ads using individual web tracking data

LONDON — Google says it won’t develop new ways to follow individual users across the internet after it phases out existing ad-tracking technology from its Chrome browser, a change that could shake up the online advertising industry. “There’s a growing idea that if you can’t persuade consumers to part with their data willingly, you probably don’t deserve it,” said Brian Wieser, global president of business intelligence at media agency GroupM. “If digital advertising doesn’t evolve to address the growing concerns people have about their privacy and how their personal identity is being used, we risk the future of the free and open web,” David Temkin, Google’s director of product management for ads privacy and trust, said in a blog post. It’s also in some ways a shot against Facebook, which has publicized a big push for better privacy but remains “really, really dependent on tracking for its business model,” he said.