Stay of Execution for the Cookie

Google's phasing out of third-party cookies is no longer imminent. After sending the marketing community into a frenzy with its decision 18 months ago to drop cookie support from Chrome, the firm this week put the deadline back to at least mid-2023, linking the move to pressure from UK regulators.

Google has toyed with the idea of binning the cookie since at least 2013, when it mooted a system of anonymous identifiers for individual consumers, but with big tech's privacy credentials under increasing pressure in the last few years it finally crumbled in January 2020. The decision was greeted with alarm by the ad targeting industry and condemned by the likes of the ANA and 4As, who said it would threaten or substantially disrupt much of the infrastructure of today's Internet, without providing a viable alternative.

The search and ad giant has apparently relented, now saying the delay will give publishers, advertisers and regulators more time to adapt to the new 'Privacy Sandbox' systems it is working on, including FLoCs or Federated Learning Cohorts.

A leading role in the decision has been played by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which announced in January that it was investigating the proposals under Chapter II of the Competition Act 1998. Google's announcements suggest that the CMA is at least in part responsible for the delay: for a good clarification of why it's a UK authority and not a US one that's leading this, and why it might be blocking what at first glance is a healthy move, see https://tech.co/news/google-cma-third-party-cookies ['In effect, Google will switch from providing the means to track users, to being the gatekeeper, and price-setter of the majority of the world's Internet advertising'].

The CMA has stressed that if Google's new timetable and assurances are accepted, those commitments will then become legally binding, safeguarding competition and privacy.

Vinay Goel (pictured), Google's Privacy Engineering Director for Chrome said in a blog post the firm 'needs to move at a responsible pace', adding: 'This will allow sufficient time for public discussion on the right solutions, continued engagement with regulators, and for publishers and the advertising industry to migrate their services. This is important to avoid jeopardising the business models of many web publishers which support freely available content'. The firm says it might phase out third-party cookies 'over a three month period, starting in mid-2023 and ending in late 2023'.

The ad industry has reacted with caution to the latest news, stressing that the announcement means a delay and not a cancellation of the change, and urging businesses to continue their planning for D-day, assuming it won't be put off again.

In case you're wondering, MrWeb has never used cookies and does not intend to.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.