Google’s Privacy Sandbox Faces Fresh Hurdle in UK

Google’s initiative to introduce its new advertising technology, Privacy Sandbox, has encountered challenges in the United Kingdom. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has once again voiced concerns over potential anticompetitive implications, resulting in yet another postponement of the launch.

Originally, Google intended to eliminate third-party cookies entirely. However, this summer, the company revised its plans and presented users with a choice: either continue using cookies or transition to Privacy Sandbox, which eschews cookie-based tracking. Moreover, users would be able to completely opt out of targeted advertising in favor of contextual ads, a move that could potentially bolster privacy protections.

The CMA harbors doubts that such options will preserve competition in the advertising market, as abandoning cookies might intensify reliance on Google’s tools. The authority is scrutinizing these changes and plans to render a decision by the end of 2024. The agency emphasized that Google must address its concerns; otherwise, the project may be fundamentally reevaluated. In response, Google has already agreed not to discontinue cookie support without the regulator’s consent.

Google continues to collaborate with regulators and asserts that its approach supports competition while empowering users to make informed choices.

Some experts are apprehensive that retaining third-party cookies could adversely affect user privacy. Independent consultant Lukasz Olejnik noted that shifts in the regulator’s priorities might erode users’ trust in digital advertising and harm their interests.

The primary objective of Privacy Sandbox is to enhance users’ online privacy by restricting third-party access to personal data and diminishing cookie-based tracking. Simultaneously, Google strives to maintain the functionality of digital advertising, which finances the vast majority of free content on the internet.