Google has announced it's delaying changes to its advertising system and the use of third-party cookies on its Chrome browser. The company said more time is needed to discuss the proposed 'Privacy Sandbox' changes with industry partners and regulators.
The news comes just days after the European Commission opened a competition investigation into Google's advertising practices, amid concerns it may have too strong a grip on the online ads market. Earlier this month the company already agreed to monitoring by the UK competition regulator in its implementation of the new systems, following complaints from advertisers and rivals.
Google has been testing the Privacy Sandbox over the past year as a way to replace invasive tracking cookies in Chrome and improve privacy for internet users. However, some are concerned that the changes will in fact give the company more power to target users and control the ad market.
In a blog post, Google's Privacy Engineering Director for Chrome, Vinay Goel, said the company remains committed to enhancing privacy on the web. However, "it's become clear that more time is needed across the ecosystem to get this right", he said.
His statement suggested Google may look more to an industry-led solution, rather than its own technology in future. To reach a compromise between online privacy and the digital marketing that pays for many internet services, the company believes "the web community needs to come together to develop a set of open standards", Goel said. A "responsible pace" should be taken, to "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", he added.
For Chrome, the trials with industry partners will continue. Goel said the company plans to work with the web community more on key elements such as ad measurement, delivering relevant ads and content, and fraud detection. However, the slower pace means third-party cookies will be around for at least another a year on the browser. Based on the commitments with the UK's CMA, the company aims to have new tools ready by the end of 2022 for publishers to start testing, and only in the second half of 2023 would it start phasing in the new system over three months.
