In quick succession, we learn the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is considering a multi-billion (with a B) fine for privacy violations; the federal Government Accountability Office is recommending tighter privacy regulation, and a British Parliament report has called them “digital gangsters”. That’s gotta hurt. Maybe they won’t take over the world after all.

Finally, relationship intelligence vendor Affinity has raised a $26.5 million Series B. Affinity scans data such as emails, contact lists, and calendar events to measure relationships and identify opportunities. Yes, there’s tons of artificial intelligence under the hood.

Procrastinators of the world can throw a party whenever they get around to it: Google has once more pushed back complete third-party cookie deprecation.  The new target is “early next year.” Reasons for the delay include concerns expressed by U.K. data regulator Information Commissioner’s Office, an ongoing inquiry by the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority, and widespread discontent in the advertising ecosystem.