2 min

In London on the 11th of June, Google committed to Britain’s competition regulator to remove third-party cookies from their Chrome browser. This was a result of competition restriction and privacy concerns.

What brought on this commitment?

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has stated that Google has committed to working alongside a UK regulator in their plan to remove cookies from the Google Chrome browser. The CMA also said that this pledge resulted from the action it had taken against Google back in January when publishers raised concerns that Google’s proposals may limit the competition within digital advertising.

Advertisers can use third-party cookies to enable digital content for viewers and help target and personalize advertising. However, privacy concerns came up during this discussion as cookies lead consumers’ behavior to be tracked, making them feel uncomfortable. Google has stated that users are expecting the web to be more secure and private.

How is Google planning to do so?

Google has released the Privacy Sandbox, a new technology aimed to help develop new and improved digital advertising tools that can prevent covert tracking and protect user’s privacy. It will still be supporting a web that is thriving due to ad funding.

Google wants to work with a regular appointed by the CMA to work on the competition and privacy concerns put forward by publishers. The blog revealed that Google advertising products would have no data advantage, and its sites and advertising products would not be getting any preference.

Skepticism about Google’s action

Preiskel & Co’s Chair Of The Antitrust Practice, Tim Cowen, also a critic of Google, has stated that the tech giant’s track record with undertakings has not been good, using the commitments they had also given to French authorities as an example. He also said that the CMA needs to look at undertakings carefully and ensure that they are helpful. The CMA has announced that it would be starting the consultations regarding the commitments.