EU privacy proposal may dent web companies' ad revenue

Brussels

ONLINE messaging services such as WhatsApp, iMessage and Gmail will face tougher rules on how they can track users under a proposal presented by the European Union executive on Tuesday which could hurt companies reliant on advertising.

The web companies would have to guarantee the confidentiality of their customers' conversations and get their consent before tracking them online to target them with personalised advertisements.

For example, email services such as Gmail and Hotmail will not be able to scan customers' email to serve them with ta…