Google announced on Monday, July 22, that it plans to continue using third-party cookies in its Chrome browser, despite years of promises to phase out these tracking mechanisms.
This significant change comes in response to concerns from advertisers, who are the company’s primary revenue source. They argue that the removal of cookies in the world’s most popular browser would hinder their ability to gather data for ad personalization, thus making them reliant on Google’s own user data.
Cookies are small snippets of code that websites send to a visitor’s browser, which remain active as the person browses other sites. This practice has been a cornerstone of the digital advertising ecosystem, enabling the tracking of users across different sites to target advertisements effectively.
In 2020, Google announced that it would stop supporting third-party cookies by early 2022 once it had addressed the needs of users, publishers, and advertisers, and developed tools to prevent workarounds. To achieve this, Google launched its “Privacy Sandbox” initiative, aiming to find a solution that protects user privacy while allowing content to remain freely accessible on the open web.
However, in June 2021, Google extended the timeline, allowing the digital advertising industry additional time to develop strategies for more privacy-focused targeted advertising. By 2022, Google announced that feedback indicated advertisers required even more time to transition to the new cookie replacement, as some expressed concerns that the change would significantly affect their businesses.
Lena Cohen, staff technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, stated that cookies can cause consumer harm, such as predatory ads targeting vulnerable groups. “Google’s decision to continue allowing third-party cookies, even though other major browsers have blocked them for years, directly reflects their advertising-driven business model,” Cohen said in a statement.
Privacy Sandbox
In the European Union, the use of cookies is regulated by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which requires publishers to obtain explicit consent from users before storing cookies. Major browsers also offer the option to delete cookies on demand.
“Instead of deprecating third-party cookies, we would introduce a new experience in Chrome that lets people make an informed choice that applies across their web browsing, and they’d be able to adjust that choice at any time,” stated Anthony Chavez, vice president of the Google-backed Privacy Sandbox initiative, in a blog post.
Chavez noted that Google is collaborating with regulators like the UK’s CMA and Information Commissioner’s Office, as well as with publishers and privacy groups, on the new approach, while continuing to invest in the Privacy Sandbox program.
“We created the Privacy Sandbox with the aim of discovering innovative solutions that significantly enhance online privacy while maintaining an ad-supported internet. This approach supports a diverse ecosystem of publishers, connects businesses with customers, and provides free access to a wide range of content for everyone”, Chavez said.
Early testing by ad tech companies, including Google, has shown that the Privacy Sandbox APIs have the potential to achieve desired outcomes. The overall performance of these APIs is expected to improve over time as industry adoption grows. However, this transition demands considerable effort from many participants and will impact publishers, advertisers, and everyone involved in online advertising.
As this progresses, it remains crucial for developers to have privacy-preserving alternatives. The Privacy Sandbox APIs will continue to be available, with ongoing investments to enhance both privacy and utility. Additional privacy controls are also planned, including the introduction of IP Protection in Chrome’s Incognito mode.
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Source: channelnewsasia.com, privacysandbox.com