Google has delayed its long-promised decision of blocking third-party cookies from Google Chrome. As Google’s business model relies on third-party cookies for its ad business, it has cited the need to “avoid jeopardising the business models of many web publishers which support freely available content” along with wanting to “move at a responsible pace.”
Many of Google’s rivals, such as Microsoft, Mozilla, and Apple, have already blocked cookies that track users’ internet activity. In addition, numerous ad companies and data brokers use third-party cookies to track users’ activity across the internet. People who care about their online privacy highly detest this.
In January 2020, Google announced that it would remove Chrome’s third-party cookies by 2022, promising a new, more private alternative. Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC) is one of the most-known attempts made by Google; however, it doesn’t entirely stop tracking. Google can directly track the activity through the browser, gather data, and compile users into large groups according to their interests.
This keeps the users anonymous but doesn’t stop them from being tracked. In addition, it gives Google far more control over the information they collect. As a result, it wasn’t a prevalent choice amongst regulators, ad tech companies, or privacy experts. As a result, the European Union and The United Kingdom are further investigating if FLoC violates any antitrust laws.
Now, Google states that it will stop supporting third-party cookies in Chrome by the end of 2023. Google Chrome is one of the most popular browsers today while being the only one run by a company with a powerful ad platform. As this isn’t something that affects its rivals, they’ve been quick to incorporate anti-tracking tools.
