Google has once again delayed the phasing out of third-party cookies in Chrome browsers, marking the third postponement of the plan since 2019.
On Tuesday local time, Google explained in a statement on its official website that opposition from industry and regulatory authorities is the main reason for the delay. "We recognize that there are challenges in coordinating different feedback from industry, regulatory agencies, and developers."
Cookies are files stored in browsers to store user browsing information, and advertising companies can use cookies to accurately place personalized advertisements. In recent years, browsers such as Apple and Firefox have gradually phased out third-party cookies to protect consumer privacy. Google has also been planning a phased out plan, developing a "privacy sandbox" that aims to not track user privacy but also deliver personalized advertising.
However, this plan has gone through twists and turns, with the biggest doubts coming from advertisers and antitrust agencies. Chen Bing, Vice Dean of the School of Law at Nankai University, previously explained to 21st Century Business Herald reporters that the "privacy sandbox" is equivalent to handing over the power to Google, and the level of user information that advertisers can see is entirely determined by Google. Google is both a provider of digital services and a giant of digital advertising, and the "privacy sandbox" may sacrifice the interests of advertisers, publishers, and application developers to continue strengthening Google's power.
With the intervention of the UK antitrust agency (CMA), Google's modified third-party cookie elimination plan was finally approved in January this year - Google began disabling third-party cookies for 1% of Chrome users and plans to completely eliminate them by the end of the year. However, CMA's regulatory efforts have not relaxed, and it has been continuing market research and has the right to stop Google at any time.
In an evaluation test conducted in February this year, the non-profit organization IAB Technology Laboratory tested the effectiveness of Google's privacy sandbox and found that the privacy sandbox would make it more difficult for the digital advertising industry to display effective advertisements, and may put smaller brands and publishers at a significant disadvantage.
The IAB Technology Laboratory focuses on analyzing the technology of "Protecting Audience APIs (PAAPIs)". PAAPI is a key mechanism for Google to re advertise personalized ads, dividing users into different groups based on their interests and characteristics, and generating bidding prices. IAB pointed out that the accuracy and transparency of using this feature for digital advertising placement are insufficient in most cases.
Despite Google pointing out technical errors in IAB's report, in February of this year, CMA halted Google's plan to phase out third-party cookies and demanded that Google not continue to pursue it until anti competitive concerns were resolved.
It can be said that British regulators are still concerned that the privacy sandbox will increase Google's own competitive advantage. Currently, Google is in discussions with CMA, and in a statement, Google stated, "It is important that CMA has sufficient time to review, including the results of industry tests." CMA also welcomes Google's proactive postponement.
CMA requires different market entities to provide testing results and opinions on Google's new mechanism before June this year. The regulatory plan can be evaluated by the middle of this year, but even if it is approved by the middle of the year, Google will have to wait for 60 to 120 days before starting to cancel third-party cookies. Google stated that its current goal is to restart the elimination plan by early 2025, depending on the approval of UK antitrust and privacy agencies.