Google has moved against California Assembly Bill 566, which aims to improve consumer privacy protections in digital advertising. The tech giant is now conducting a campaign against the bill, attempting to influence small business owners.
We obtained a copy of the bill for you here.
The bill would force businesses to develop or maintain only browsers and mobile operating systems that include a setting allowing consumers to send an opt-out preference signal.
Google’s campaign is designed to convince small businesses that compliance with the bill would harm their interests.
But a number of advertising professionals are disputing the validity of these claims, arguing instead that companies should base their collection of consumer data on consent, and that Google is the one, rather than the businesses it is trying to sway, that gains by far the most from less transparent data collection policies.
Some marketing experts have taken to LinkedIn to make these points, as well as that if more people were aware of what exactly happens when their data is used, they would object to handing it over.
That’s not what the Connected Commerce Council’s letter to California lawmakers – that Google urges small business owners to sign – claims.
The letter reads that if customers are presented with a prominent setting to opt out, “you (business owners) could lose the ability to reach many of the people who are likely to purchase your products and services.”
It goes on to assert that “consumers are not asking for this (Bill 566) and neither is California’s business community.”
But Google’s email wants its target audience to sign the letter in order to express their concerns about the bill and protect against what the tech giant claims is legislation that could hurt their businesses.
The Connected Commerce Council is a non-profit that states its mission is to empower small businesses “to tell their own stories.” It is currently receiving funding from corporate sponsors Amazon and Google.
Google’s email is telling owners that Bill 566 could make it “more challenging and expensive” to use online advertising to reach customers.
The email also notes that California Governor Gavin Newsom last year vetoed “a similar bill” and that Bill 566 is a new version of that.
Another argument Google makes in addressing small business owners is that the bill would force them to use “new and untested technology” which “may confuse users” – on top of allegedly negatively affecting the process of reaching customers via online ads.
