The online protest is in response to the way Google remembers users search details and behavioural characteristics. Google's new
'behavioural advertising' strategy has received criticism for the way it collates user data (using cookies) in order to flag ads that match the user's particular interests across the thousands of sites that display Google's adwords.
American blogger, indepedent activist and editor for Adbuster Magazine, Micah White, has made a call to arms on his blog for concerned web citizens to repeal the changes, hoping that an outcome similar to the Facebook privacy fiasco may be accomplished.
Facebook, which was under extreme pressure from worried users over its plan to sell user data to third parties, later retracted its proposal, after thousands rejected the move - largely thanks to the power of the blog movement to get the message out.
White is calling the actions of his protest a "civil disobedience campaign". As part of the protest, White has designed a script that will send automated messages of protest to Google, telling the search engine to stop with their "privacy violations".
According to White's blog, the script is designed to work as an add-on with Firefox (and designed to work through Grease monkey). It will trigger multiple ad clicks automatically, in addition to the protest message - without the user actually needing view the ad in question.
White has provided simple instructions for those wishing to join the cause. His tactics aim to destabilise the Google adsense empire, upon which advertisers pay certain amounts of money per clicks. False clicks (also known as 'click fraud) are strictly frowned upon in the industry and it's imagined that thousands (or millions) of people doing this, would force Google to recalculate their privacy strategy .
White writes on his blog that he hopes that "if ads are being clicked on automatically, then the whole house of cards upon which the AdSense system is built on crumbles. Advertisers will refuse to pay Google and Google will refuse to pay websites."
Those wanting to know more about the 'protest script' and the new Google privacy changes can read more on White's Blackspot blog.