Google Keeps Cookies in Chrome, Citing Advertiser Needs and Privacy Sandbox Initiative

Google revealed on Monday its decision to retain third-party cookies in Chrome, addressing concerns from advertisers about data collection while navigating regulatory scrutiny.

Impact on Digital Advertising Landscape

Google announced on Monday that, after years of promises to eliminate the small packets of code used to track people online, it intends to retain third-party cookies in its Chrome browser, according to Reuters.

The huge U-turn is in response to advertisers' fears that they will be unable to gather enough data to personalize advertising in the event that the most popular browser stops supporting cookies. This would leave marketers reliant on Google's user databases, which is the main source of revenue for the firm.

Regulatory Scrutiny Intensifies

Due to worries that Google's strategy might limit competition in digital advertising, it has also been examined by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority.

"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, VP of the Google-backed Privacy Sandbox initiative, in a blog post.

Privacy Sandbox: A Long-Term Initiative

A main objective of the Privacy Sandbox initiative, which has been ongoing since 2019 and is part of Alphabet's larger effort to promote digital businesses and enhance online privacy, is the phase-out of third-party cookies.

Cookies are small data packets that websites and advertisers use to identify users and monitor their online activities; however, they can also be utilized for invasive monitoring purposes.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) governs cookie use in the European Union and requires publishers to get users' explicit agreement before storing their cookies. You can also erase cookies manually in most major browsers.

Per Yahoo Finance, Google is continuing to invest in the Privacy Sandbox program, according to Chavez, and is collaborating with regulators, publishers, and privacy groups on the new approach. The regulators involved include the UK's CMA and the Office of Information Commissioners.

Reactions to the announcement were varied.

"Advertising stakeholders will no longer have to prepare to quit third-party cookies cold turkey," wrote eMarketer analyst Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf.

One way in which cookies might hurt consumers is by enabling predatory advertisements to target specific demographics, according to Lena Cohen, a technologist on staff at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. "Google's decision to continue allowing third-party cookies, despite other major browsers blocking them for years, is a direct consequence of their advertising-driven business model," Cohen wrote in a press release.