[bhaney]

I took it more as an anecdote to show how Google is intentionally using its size and influence to engage in anticompetitive practices by forcing the adtech industry to standardize on technologies that only Google can use effectively.

More of a "be upset with Google" than a "feel bad for my friend" kind of thing

[wbl]

The privacy preserving ads tech has been around a while and a lot developed outside of Google and Meta. I made a stab at it while an intern at Mozilla, and we basically succeeded at the very easy part of accounting. Training the bandit is a lot harder.

Also the adtech industry in it's current form is harmful to users. First of it exploits tracking vectors. Secondly it's a malware distribution technique second to none.