Abstract
This paper discusses the Google «Privacy Sandbox Initiative» (PSI), which aims to change existing tracking technology to better protect user privacy. The proposal is ex-amined in its technical dimensions, while additional context concerning its develop-ment is provided by discussing outside pressures coming from other actors. If the PSI is to be implemented, the process of tracking will change, but the digital advertising busi-ness will not. The paper aims to assess these unaddressed problems by taking political ads as example of the effects such advertising has on democracies. Towards the end of the paper, further thoughts on how to approach the regulation of intermediaries like Google are sketched out.
Fässler, Michael