An ironic spat this week in the world of big tech. Google attacked Microsoft for “its long history of tricks to confuse users and limit choice,” less than than three weeks after it was accused of “reducing people’s choice and control over how their information is collected,” in response to its new plan to digitally fingerprint users’ devices, not just Android and Chrome — the usual targets of such criticism. That tracking is now just six weeks away.
Two unrelated stories barely a fortnight apart—and yet not really unrelated at all. The common theme is users as pawns, subject to the whims of the staggeringly expansive ecosystems they rely on each and every day.
