US Lawmakers Press Online Ad Auctioneers Over User Data

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Google is seen at the high profile startups and high tech leaders gathering, Viva Tech, in Paris, France May 16, 2019. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Google is seen at the high profile startups and high tech leaders gathering, Viva Tech, in Paris, France May 16, 2019. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/
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US Lawmakers Press Online Ad Auctioneers Over User Data

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Google is seen at the high profile startups and high tech leaders gathering, Viva Tech, in Paris, France May 16, 2019. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Google is seen at the high profile startups and high tech leaders gathering, Viva Tech, in Paris, France May 16, 2019. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/

A bipartisan group of US senators on Friday sent letters to major digital ad exchanges, including Google and Twitter, asking whether user data was sold to foreign entities who could use it for blackmail or other malicious ends.

In the real-time bidding process to decide which personalized ads a user sees when a web page loads, hundreds of businesses receive a user's personal information, including search history, IP address, age and gender.

Questions about the sale of data gathered during the auction process were also sent to AT&T, Index Exchange, Magnite, OpenX, PubMatic and Verizon, according to the office of Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat representing Oregon.

"Few Americans realize that some auction participants are siphoning off and storing 'bidstream' data to compile exhaustive dossiers about them," Wyden and other senators wrote in letters to the companies.

"This information would be a goldmine for foreign intelligence services that could exploit it to inform and supercharge hacking, blackmail, and influence campaigns."

While online ad exchanges use automated bidding systems to determine which ads to show people using internet services, data such as user locations, devices, and web activity can be gathered, according to the senators.

"These dossiers are being openly sold to anyone with a credit card, including to hedge funds, political campaigns, and even to governments," the senators wrote.

Questions sent to the companies included what information is gathered about people in the course of serving up ads and which foreign firms have bought such data from them, according to the release.
The companies were given until May 4 to provide answers.

Twitter told AFP it had received the letter and intended to respond. The other companies did not immediately respond to queries for comment.

Google has pledged to steer clear of tracking individual online activity when it begins implementing a new system for targeting ads without the use of so-called "cookies."

The internet giant's widely used Chrome browser recently began testing an alternative to the tracking practice that it believes could improve online privacy while still enabling advertisers to serve up relevant messages.



Google to Discount Cloud Computing Services for US Government, FT Reports

FILED - 09 January 2024, US, Las Vegas: The Google logo is pictured on the Internet company's pavilion at the CES technology trade fair in Las Vegas. Photo: Andrej Sokolow/dpa
FILED - 09 January 2024, US, Las Vegas: The Google logo is pictured on the Internet company's pavilion at the CES technology trade fair in Las Vegas. Photo: Andrej Sokolow/dpa
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Google to Discount Cloud Computing Services for US Government, FT Reports

FILED - 09 January 2024, US, Las Vegas: The Google logo is pictured on the Internet company's pavilion at the CES technology trade fair in Las Vegas. Photo: Andrej Sokolow/dpa
FILED - 09 January 2024, US, Las Vegas: The Google logo is pictured on the Internet company's pavilion at the CES technology trade fair in Las Vegas. Photo: Andrej Sokolow/dpa

Google will heavily discount cloud computing services for the United States government, in a deal that could be finalized within weeks, the Financial Times reported on Friday, amid President Donald Trump's efforts to implement sweeping measures to minimize federal spending.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Oracle will offer federal agencies a 75% discount on its license-based software and a "substantial" discount on its cloud service through the end of November.

Google's cloud contract is likely "to land in a similar spot", the Financial Times said, citing a senior official at the General Services Administration, adding that equivalent discounts from Microsoft's Azure and Amazon Web Services are expected to follow soon.

"Every single of those companies is totally bought in, they understand the mission," the senior official told the newspaper. "We will get there with all four players."

Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

Google and the General Services Administration did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment outside regular business hours.

In April, Google agreed to offer a 71% discount till September 30 to US federal agencies for its business apps package that could generate up to $2 billion in cost savings if there is government-wide adoption.