@craignicol @kapsiR @mcc I don't think you understand how advertising works. Advertising does not magically fit in with the content of the site and the general interests of the user. So far, there is no alternative to tracking that enables the same or at least almost the same conversion rates. And as long as this is not the case, tracking will happen. To stop tracking, we need alternatives that work just as well but are better for privacy, like - hopefully - PPA.
@s_hentzschel @kapsiR @mcc what I described is exactly how print advertising worked. Car and car parts companies advertised in car magazines, beauty companies advertised in beauty magazines, and advertisers had no way to track readers.
A couple of online news sites do the same thing and found working directly with relevant advertisers in their country was more profitable than outsourcing to Google.
"Advertising needs to track users" is a line used by tracking companies to convince their customers (advertisers) not to go elsewhere, and to embrace the dashboards that make it look as though conversion is a science that can be tested and refined, but completely misses context.
And let's not forget the number of times Meta, Google and others have outright lied about engagement to encourage, variously, video content, highly opaque political campaigns, AMP and performance benefits, promotion of far right and other hateful content, promotion of paid content over organic, and several other anti-competitive and anti-consumer initiatives
@s_hentzschel @kapsiR @mcc what I described is exactly how print advertising worked. Car and car parts companies advertised in car magazines, beauty companies advertised in beauty magazines, and advertisers had no way to track readers.
A couple of online news sites do the same thing and found working directly with relevant advertisers in their country was more profitable than outsourcing to Google.