Google Reverses Course On Cookie Ban In Chrome, Citing Industry, Regulatory Pressure

Alphabet Inc.‘s GOOG GOOGL Google decided to abandon its long-standing plan to eliminate cookies in its Chrome browser, citing industry and regulatory pushback.

What Happened: After four years of persistent efforts, delays, and conflicts with the advertising sector, Google made a U-turn on its decision to phase out cookies in Chrome, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported. This decision comes after both digital-advertising companies and regulators expressed their objections to Google’s proposed alternative technologies.

Instead of eliminating cookies, Google will now prompt Chrome users to decide whether to enable or disable cookies, according to the U.K. privacy regulator, which has been overseeing Google’s cookie-blocking plan.

Anthony Chavez, the vice president of Google’s Privacy Sandbox, acknowledged the significant impact this transition would have on publishers, advertisers and the online advertising industry. He announced a revised approach that prioritizes user choice and stated Google is in discussions with regulators and the industry as it rolls out this new path, WSJ reported.

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Google initially announced its plan to eliminate cookies in 2020, with the aim of enhancing user privacy while browsing the internet. However, this move was met with resistance from advertisers, who argued that Google’s proposed replacement technologies would compel them to shift their spending to the tech giant’s digital-ad products.

In 2021, UK regulators began investigating whether Google’s plan would negatively impact competition in the digital advertising space. Google agreed to cooperate with the regulator, promising to give the agency at least 60 days’ notice before removing cookies for evaluation, according to the Journal.

During the ongoing investigation, Google delayed its timeline to eliminate cookies initially set for 2022. In April, the Information Commissioner’s Office of the British government declared it would release a report highlighting significant flaws in Google’s proposed replacement technologies. Following this announcement, Google stated it would further delay the end of cookies past the previously announced deadline of the end of this year.

This latest decision by Google to keep cookies in Chrome could further intensify the regulatory spotlight on the tech giant’s privacy practices.

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This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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