Google announced this week that it will, for the third time, delay the third-party cookie phase out.
The company had originally set the deadline for the third-party cookie phase out for January 2020, promising that within two years user tracking technology would be eliminated. Since then, the tech giant has had to postpone the date twice, due to uncertainties around the alternative, called Privacy Sandbox.
“We recognize that there are ongoing challenges related to reconciling divergent feedback from the industry, regulators and developers, and will continue to engage closely with the entire ecosystem,” stated Google on a blog post announcing the delay. “It’s also critical that the CMA has sufficient time to review all evidence including results from industry tests, which the CMA has asked market participants to provide by the end of June. Given both of these significant considerations, we will not complete third-party cookie deprecation during the second half of Q4.”
Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the antitrust enforcer of the UK, has been monitoring the process. In January, the regulatory body raised 39 concerns that the tech giant would have to address before the process proceeds. The CMA’s primary concern is to ensure that fair competition is protected post the third-party cookie demise and that the Privacy Sandbox doesn’t further Google’s market dominance in adtech.