Advertisers want EU to curb browser settings

Google’s planned changes to ad tracking are the target of complaints from advertisers and publishers urging the European Union to curb how the search giant customizes its Web browser.

Google’s decision to limit tracking by phasing out third-party cookies — part of a broader privacy policy — is to limit its ability to collect information about Web users that helps them offer more valuable ads.

A decade of antitrust problems for Google

The new complaint calls for officials to require Google to inform authorities of future browser changes. That would go beyond a potential settlement that Google proposed to U.K. authorities to stop investigating the company’s so-called privacy sandbox.

“Creating a more private network, and creating opportunities for publishers and advertisers that support a free and open Internet requires the industry to make major changes to the way digital advertising works,” Google said.

The company has previously said it is committed to developing new offerings to support a healthy web with ad-supported ads without third-party cookies.