Google on Monday abandoned plans to phase out third-party tracking cookies in its Chrome web browser more than four years after it introduced the option as part of a larger set of a controversial proposal called the Privacy Sandbox.
"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," Anthony Chavez, vice president of the initiative, said.
"We're discussing this new path with regulators, and will engage with the industry as we roll this out."
The significant policy reversal comes nearly three months following the company's announcement that it intends to eliminate third-party cookies starting early next year after repeated delays, underscoring the project's tumultuous history.
While Apple Safari and Mozilla Firefox no longer support third-party cookies as of early 2020, Google has had a tougher time turning it off owing to its own prominent role as a web browser vendor and an advertising platform.
The company's idea of balancing online privacy vis-à-vis an ad-supported internet using Privacy Sandbox has courted scrutiny from regulators, advertisers, and privacy advocates, prompting it to redraw the contours of the cookie-replacement technology several times over the past few years.
Last month, Austrian privacy non-profit noyb (none of your business) said it merely shifts the control from a third-party to Google and that it can still be used to track users without giving them an option to consent in an informed and transparent manner.
Apple, which has introduced advanced tracking and fingerprinting protections in Safari, has been critical of Topics API, a crucial aspect of Privacy Sandbox that sorts users' interests into an ever-evolving list of predefined topics based on their browsing histories in order to serve personalized ads.
"The user doesn't get told upfront which topics Chrome has tagged them with or which topics it exposes to which parties," Apple's WebKit team said, noting how it can be used to fingerprint and re-identify users as well as profile their cross-site activity.
Specifically, it pointed out implementation loopholes that could potentially allow a data broker embedded in websites to capture a user's changing interests over time by periodically querying the Topics API and creating a permanent profile by combining it with other data points.
"Now imagine what advanced machine learning and artificial intelligence can deduce about you based on various combinations of interest signals," the iPhone maker said. "What patterns will emerge when data brokers and trackers can compare and contrast across large portions of the population?"
"We think the web should not expose such information across websites and we don't think the browser, i.e. the user agent, should facilitate any such data collection or use."
Privacy Sandbox has also faced regulatory hurdles over concerns that the technology could give Google an unfair advantage in the digital advertising market and limit competition, complicating the rollout process further.
The development is an admission from Google that gaining industry-wide consensus around a single solution is more challenging than it sounds. A pivot from cookies "requires significant work by many participants and will have an impact on publishers, advertisers, and everyone involved in online advertising," it said.
The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which is closely overseeing the changes being made by the search giant, said it's evaluating the impact of the new announcement.
"Instead of removing third-party cookies from Chrome, it will be introducing a user-choice prompt, which will allow users to choose whether to retain third-party cookies," the CMA said. "The CMA will now work closely with the [Information Commissioner's Office] to carefully consider Google's new approach to Privacy Sandbox."
The ICO expressed its disappointment at Google's change of plans and emphasized the need for a more privacy friendly internet, having viewed blocking third-party cookies as a positive step for consumers.
"The new plan set out by Google is a significant change and we will reflect on this new course of action when more detail is available," Stephen Bonner, deputy commissioner at the ICO, said in a statement.
"Despite Google's decision, we continue to encourage the digital advertising industry to move to more private alternatives to third party cookies – and not to resort to more opaque forms of tracking. We will monitor how the industry responds and consider regulatory action where systemic non-compliance is identified for all companies including Google."
