Google Abandons Four-Year Plan to Remove Third-Party Cookies from Chrome, Opts for New Privacy Strategy Offering Users More Control
Fiona Nanna, ForeMedia News
4 minutes read. Updated 8:56PM GMT Tues, 23July, 2024
Google has reversed its four-year-old plan to eliminate third-party cookies from its Chrome internet browser. This decision has been met with disappointment from the UK’s data privacy watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
Cookies are small files stored on a user’s computer, enabling advertisers to track internet activity and target ads accordingly. Initially, Google aimed to block these third-party cookies to enhance user privacy. However, Google now states it will pursue a new approach that offers users an “informed choice across their web browsing” and is discussing the next steps with regulators. This indicates that Google is not entirely abandoning its alternative advertising strategies but will allow third-party cookie-based systems to continue operating in parallel.
In practical terms, users will still encounter pop-ups asking them to enable or disable cookies in the future. Stephen Bonner of the ICO expressed the organization’s initial support for blocking third-party cookies as a consumer-positive step. He noted that Google’s revised plan is a significant shift, and the ICO will evaluate this new direction once more details are available.
Privacy Sandbox
Third-party cookies, stored by businesses other than the website being visited, have been crucial in digital advertising. They track user behavior across multiple websites, allowing advertisers to create detailed consumer profiles based on interests.
Google’s pivotal role in online advertising meant its plan to replace cookies, known as “Privacy Sandbox,” was controversial. Competitors and online advertising firms opposed the proposal. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) intervened in 2021, fearing that Google’s plans could push even more advertisers to use its own systems. In 2022, the CMA obtained commitments from Google to mitigate these concerns and is now seeking feedback on Google’s revised plan.
The CMA stated, “We will need to carefully consider Google’s new approach to Privacy Sandbox, working closely with the ICO, and welcome views on Google’s revised approach – including possible implications for consumers and market outcomes.”
Jeff Green, head of the advertising platform The Trade Desk, welcomed Google’s change of heart. He remarked, “I have been saying for years now to our industry, to Google, and even to Wall Street that it is a strategic mistake for Google to get rid of third-party cookies. Google seems to finally acknowledge that the best option for them is to give consumers the choice.”
For more details on Google’s new approach and its implications, visit the Information Commissioner’s Office, Competition and Markets Authority, and The Trade Desk.
