Google has made a U-turn on its long-term plan to kill third-party cookies.
The tech giant committed to eradicating cookies – small files stored on computers which allow advertisers to track user behaviour across websites – on its market-leading Chrome browser four years ago.
Its stated aim was to 鈥榙evelop a set of open standards to fundamentally enhance privacy on the web, giving people more transparency and greater control over how their data is used鈥�. However there were concerns that Google鈥檚 alternatives could be developed and implemented in ways that impeded competition in digital advertising markets.
As the replacement Privacy Sandbox initiative was repeatedly pushed back, UK competition watchdog the CMA secured commitments from Google to ensure fair and open competition.
老九品茶es scrambled to research alternative ways of reaching their target audience ahead of the switch-off, while trends suggested that consumers were growing less tolerant of wholesale behavioural monitoring.
However the spend may have been in vain after Google鈥檚 sudden reversal in favour of a new approach which it says will give users an 鈥榠nformed choice that applies across their web browsing鈥�. It is discussing next steps with regulators.
The Information Commissioner鈥檚 Office, the UK鈥檚 data privacy watchdog, said it was “disappointed” by the decision.
鈥淚t has been our view that blocking third-party cookies would be a positive step for consumers,” added Stephen Bonner, deputy commissioner (regulatory supervision) at the ICO.
鈥淭he new plan set out by Google is a significant change and we will reflect on this new course of action when more detail is available.”
The CMA said it would 鈥渘eed to carefully consider Google鈥檚 new approach to Privacy Sandbox, working closely with the ICO in this regard, and welcome views on Google’s revised approach 鈥� including possible implications for consumers and market outcomes”.
Specialist technology and privacy lawyer Matthew Holman, partner at law firm Cripps, said the move 鈥渕akes it look like Google is continuing to put advertising revenue ahead of the privacy rights and freedoms of its users鈥�.
He said: 鈥淭he great difficulty is that third-party cookies are the backbone of online behavioural advertising. They are the way that products or brands follow you around online.聽
鈥淎ll the corporates that rely on Google for advertising revenue were sent into a panic by Google鈥檚 original announcement. Lots of time and money was spent on consultants, tech advisors and lawyers to analyse what could be done and, in particular, how to ensure digital marketing can continue as before.聽
鈥淭hese solutions involved things like greater emphasis on first-party cookies, lookalike audiences on social media and other tech solutions. Whole project teams were set up.
鈥淎ll that time and money and resource will essentially be money down the drain. Google has not endeared itself.聽
鈥淗owever, the likely response from most organisations will be a sigh of relief because, despite all of the investment, most businesses were still not ready for this change to be implemented.鈥�
Holman says that, in essence, it boils down to an acknowledgement from Google that the marketing industry was not ready for the change.聽
However, he added: 鈥淎 cynical view would argue that Google didn鈥檛 want to upset its massive customer base for advertising, which makes up 80% of its revenue.鈥�
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