Online privacy and profit clash with fortunes at stake

In one such complaint filed in January, multiple states accuse Google of tracking users' location data despite leading consumers to believe they could protect their privacy on the tech giant's services. — Reuters

SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook and Google are under growing pressure to better balance privacy and ad-targeting - with their fortunes at stake as users rebel, regulators loom and Apple pounces on the moment to polish its image.

At the heart of the issue is how much Internet companies should know about people's online lives, a flow of data that is key to the many billions Big Tech makes on ads each year.