China Advertising Association trials workaround to Apple privacy rules | WARC | The Feed

China Advertising Association trials workaround to Apple privacy rules

A number of China’s biggest tech firms are testing ways to outflank Apple’s soon-to-be-introduced privacy rules, designed to protect iPhone users from being tracked without their consent.

Tech companies, including ByteDance and Tencent, are trialing tools reportedly produced by a state-backed group which would allow them to serve targeted ads to iPhone users, reports the Financial Times. 

The Details

• iPhone apps will in future have to ask permission to collect tracking information, which is likely to deal a heavy blow to advertisers as the majority of users are expected to deny permission.

• The China Advertising Association, a state-backed organization with 2,000 members, has produced a tool called CAID, which is now being tested by advertisers and tech platforms in China. CAID is reported to be the biggest challenge Apple has so far faced in successfully rolling out its new privacy rules.

• While Apple could probably detect which apps use CAID and bar them from its App Store, if it wanted, a full-on confrontation with China’s tech giants, as well as a government-backed body, may present special challenges for Apple, reports the FT.

Sound Bite

“The big picture is that there is simply too much money at stake. There will always be an arms race to track consumers. Only legislation can make it stop.” Dina Srinivasan, a US-based antitrust scholar.

Sourced from the Financial Times