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Google will retain third-party cookies and not introduce new opt-out prompts, despite almost five years working to remove the problematic customer tracking tech
Back in 2019, Google said it would work towards removing tracking cookies, instead replacing them with a ‘Privacy Sandbox’ that focussed on user privacy while still supporting digital advertisers.
By 2021, the internet giant was beginning to test this Privacy Sandbox solution, promising that it would not introduce any “alternate identifiers to track individuals as they browse across the web”.
Removing cookies, while a significant gain for consumer data privacy, posed a significant problem to digital advertisers, which broadly rely on the technology for targeted marketing. Advertisers argued that the move would limit their ability to compete effectively and leave them reliant on Google’s own user databases.
As a result, the plan faced significant scrutiny from various regulators, including the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority.
Fast forward to July 2024 and Google formally announced that it had scrapped its plans to remove cookies from Chrome, instead planning to introduce an opt-out mechanism that would allow users to reject tracking.
“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,” wrote Anthony Chavez, vice president of the Google-backed Privacy Sandbox initiative, in an associated blog post.
Now, almost a year later, and Google has confirmed it will not be rolling out any form of cookies opt-out prompt for users.
“As we’ve engaged with the ecosystem … it remains clear that there are divergent perspectives on making changes that could impact the availability of third-party cookies,” said Chavez. “Users can continue to choose the best option for themselves in Chrome’s Privacy and Security Settings.”
While this decision will be welcomed by advertisers – who will no longer need to scramble for an alternative method to track consumers’ browsing habits – it represents something of a failure for Google. The company has spent five years building a viable replacement for cookies, only to simply revert to the status quo.
Google insists it will continue to work on the Privacy Sandbox, but its utility remains questionable; if it cannot functionally replace third-party cookies after four years of development, it seems unlikely to be convincing proposition for the wider ecosystem in the near future.
The elephant in the room here, however, is Google’s ongoing antitrust battles with antitrust regulators. The company is already coming under heavy scrutiny for its perceived monopoly on internet search, with the US Justice Department pushing for the company to divest of its chrome browser. At the same time, earlier this month a judge also ruled that the company holds an illegal monopoly in ad tech, potentially foreshadowing a similar divestment ruling.
With this much negative attention surrounding the company from a regulatory perspective, introducing a new alternative to third-party cookies that could arguably grant the company even more control of the market seems like a bad idea.
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