Google announced last month that it was delaying the retirement of third-party cookies in Chrome until early 2025. This comes after UK regulators expressed concerns that the alternative could give search giants an unfair advertising advantage.
The delay could also be a sign that the advertising industry isn’t ready to end cookie tracking in the world’s most popular browsers.
Regulatory concerns
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has asked Google to postpone the removal of tracking cookies over concerns that the company’s privacy sandbox – Chome’s third-party cookie replacement – gives Google Ads a competitive advantage. I urged them to do so.
This delay should allow Google representatives to work with the CMA to respond to multiple requests, including:
- no competitive advantage Compare Google’s own advertising products and services to our competitors.
- More collaborations. Google needs to release an alternative to cookies that benefits the entire advertising ecosystem.
- data protection To ensure privacy advocates are happy with Google’s privacy sandbox.
- Tests and Reports. Google plans to provide evidence that its cookie alternatives are effective and do not negatively impact competitors.
In a published response, Google said, “We recognize that there are ongoing challenges associated with coordinating disparate feedback from industry, regulators, and developers, and we continue to work closely with the entire ecosystem.” We will continue to work together.” It is also important that the CMA has sufficient time to consider all evidence, including the results of industry tests, which the CMA is asking market participants to submit by the end of June. Given both of these important considerations, the retirement of third-party cookies will not be complete until late Q4. ”
privacy challenge
In addition to regulatory concerns, privacy advocate believed that Privacy Sandbox was no better than third-party cookies and had asked Google to delay its release.
Although Privacy Sandbox collects less information about you and provides an alternative way to serve targeted ads, it still allows Chrome to act like an ad server and store data within the Google ecosystem. Some people are concerned about the concentration of
The release has been delayed to address these concerns.
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Google Announced in 2022 Chrome’s tracking cookies will be deleted. Other web browsers has abolished cookies without much fuss, but Chome is different.
According to Statista, Chome had a commanding 65.7% share of the global browser market in February 2024.
So when Chrome eventually removes tracking cookies, much of digital advertising will change, impacting multiple areas.
- Chrome users. Third-party cookies allow ad targeting — Show you relevant and interesting ads.
- advertising network. Companies like Meta and Criteo that are in the business of serving ads will “lose the signal.” This means relatively less behavioral data for ad targeting.
- Advertiser. Signal loss could potentially lead to less effective ads and higher ad prices, similar to the impact Apple removed tracking in iOS 14.5 in 2021.
of privacy sandbox aimed to address these advertising concerns and deliver more relevant ads that benefit users and advertisers.
So this recent delay, prompted by regulators (who are focused on competition) and privacy advocates, may indicate that the advertising industry is not ready to abandon tracking cookies.
For example, some people complain that Privacy Sandbox keeps too much data within the Google ecosystem, but alternatives have the same problem. Examples include Liveramp’s Authenticated Traffic Solution and Criteo’s Commerce Media Platform, both of which are advertising platforms. Even Unified ID 2.0, an open source alphanumeric identifier, gets much of its support from The Trade Desk, a platform for advertisers.
What’s the better alternative?
In short, the advertising industry faces complex challenges in transitioning away from third-party cookies, a system deeply embedded in digital advertising.
like them Find replacements Google and other stakeholders, including the Privacy Sandbox, face technological and competitive implications and industry reluctance to adapt to radically different alternatives.
While these new technologies are great for user privacy, they introduce complexity and fragmentation, which can lead to lower advertising effectiveness and higher barriers to adoption.
Continued delays indicate that the market is wary of abandoning a proven mechanism without a clear, proven alternative.
