Google’s Facebook Copycat Moves Leave It More Exposed to Privacy Backlash - Bloomberg

It's going to be a very busy year for data privacy-focused legislators and lawyers

"So far, Alphabet Inc.’s Google has suffered fewer of the problems plaguing Facebook, including fake news and Russian-linked political spending. And it’s avoided public blunders like the Cambridge Analytica data leak. 

But two years ago, Google altered its offerings in a way that makes it more vulnerable to data-sharing scrutiny. Advertisers using its DoubleClick system to target and measure ads could start anonymously combining web-tracking data (from “cookies” that follow users online) with potent Google information including search queries, location history, phone numbers and credit card information. Until then, Google had steadfastly kept that data separate."

Google’s Facebook Copycat Moves Leave It More Exposed to Privacy Backlash - Bloomberg