In a surprise turn of events, Google announced that it had ditched plans for its long-awaited initiative to kill third-party tracking cookies in Chrome. That is, after such a long fight to find an approach that would satiate both regulatory requirements and the interests of the marketing industry. It doesn’t help the controversy that the timing of the announcement came just days since Apple’s critique of Chrome’s privacy practices.
Google’s new approach to user privacy
On July 22, Google proposed a revised approach, one that is more geared toward user choice rather than the actual removal of third-party cookies. In that statement, the company alluded to a new Chrome user experience where people can make better decisions about their privacy on the web.
“We are suggesting an updated approach that elevates user choice,” the company teased before revealing its decision. “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.”
The details of this method are, however, yet unknown. It probably includes options between ‘tracking cookies, Google’s semi-anonymous topics API and a semi-private browsing mode’. The users can always change their mind, but the changes require getting approval by the regulators. Google said in its statement “We’re discussing this new path with regulators”, to which the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) replied “we will need to carefully consider Google’s new approach.”
Implications for Chrome users
This could spell trouble for Chrome’s 3 billion users, who would not likely be making these changes within the default settings. According to privacy advocates, placing privacy at the forefront as the default mode would better serve users. An Apple attack ad on Chrome not too long ago, portraying unstoppable spying on users, really drives this home. The ad, designed as a pro-Safari advertisement, showed scenes reminiscent of Hitchcock’s The Birds to illustrate the constant surveillance users are under while browsing.
Privacy concerns and industry reaction
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has already strongly blasted Google’s Privacy Sandbox as a way to supersede tracking cookies. Only a few hours before the announcement, EFF warned that “Privacy Sandbox is Google’s way of letting advertisers keep targeting ads based on your online behavior, even after Chrome completes its long overdue phaseout of third-party cookies.”
The Privacy Sandbox has had its full share of missteps right from the day of its announcement. Eventually, one feature grouped users into a group based on similar interests. Now, Apple has raised strong objections to this method. In an update to WebKit released recently, Apple said this approach would not really block the digital fingerprinting that Google had promised to prevent.
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Google’s commitment questioned
The latest announcement by Google could be viewed as a step back from its commitment to a more private web. This year marks the fourth anniversary of the promise to eliminate tracking cookies, but the presence of cookies has turned perpetual, begging the question—is Google really committed to the privacy of its users? The EFF did not fail to point out this fact: “Google’s decision underscores their ongoing commitment to profits over user privacy.” This is because since 2020, Safari and Firefox have blocked third-party cookies by default; Google has promised to join them.
What’s next?
As the dust begins to settle following Google’s announcement, it will no doubt fall to both tech and privacy communities to parse the repercussions for this move. With tracking cookies having a good deal of life left in them, both users and regulators will be watching with bated breath what further steps Google will take. The fight between online privacy and user choice has just grown fangs, and this development engages the industry to see how deftly Google can navigate such a complex landscape.
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