Google’s cookie reversal causes uncertainty—ad execs and insiders react

Google’s latest cookie maneuver—letting the internet trackers persist while giving consumers the option to accept them—was a smart “chess move” for Google’s dealings with regulators, according to ad tech experts. But the uncertainty that now looms over cookies could be the worst outcome for ad tech vendors, publishers and advertisers in a kind of data limbo, according to ad tech leaders. On Monday, Google said it no longer planned to deprecate third-party cookies in Chrome, the web trackers that fuel programmatic ad operations. Instead of turning off cookies next year, Google is working on a new user experience for Chrome where consumers will decide whether they allow cookies. That is giving the ad industry flashbacks to when Apple launched anti-tracking rules for apps in 2021, forcing developers to get customer consent to access their data, and a vast majority of consumers rejected tracking. If the same happens with Chrome, cookies will basically self-deprecate, according to ad tech leaders. Meanwhile, Google giving consumers the choice makes its position more tenable with regulators overseeing its cookie changes. “We’re not going to see Google completely deprecate the third-party cookies, but the consumers will,” said one ad tech executive, who has worked closely with Google on its post-cookie ad tech changes and spoke on condition of anonymity. “And so what that basically means is that nothing has really changed, only I think Google has masterfully removed their hands from the accountability bin [with regulators].” Also read: What the cookie reversal means for advertisers A top executive at a major agency holding company, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said “This is the worst of all worlds. This just creates more chaos and uncertainty because it sounds like Google still plans to make as-yet-unspecified changes to Chrome that will impact third-party cookies, even if they aren’t formally deprecated, and changes to Privacy Sandbox that the rest of the ecosystem will have to accommodate. “So cookies will still mostly go away, but now in an unpredictable fashion over an unspecified time horizon, and we will deal with yet more changes to Privacy Sandbox,” the exec said. Google declined to comment for this story beyond what it said in its announcement on Monday. Google said it would continue to consult with U.K. regulators. “We are proposing an updated approach that elevates user choice,” said Anthony Chavez, VP of Google’s Privacy Sandbox, in a blog post on Monday. “Instead of deprecating third-party cookies, we would introduce a new experience in Chrome that lets people make an informed choice that applies across their web browsing, and they’d be able to adjust that choice at any time.” See America's Hottest Brands 20 brands that are trending in 2024 Click here Resistance to change Like all of Google’s moves across its sprawling platforms, comprised of search, YouTube, Gmail, Android and ad tech, its plan to deprecate cookies was closely watched for hints that it could tip the scales even further in its own favor. Publishers were wary that Google could shut off data, harming the value of ads; ad tech vendors worried Google would make Chrome a walled garden, inaccessible to their services for advertisers and publishers; and advertisers worried they could no longer reach consumers and measure marketing outcomes. The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority has oversight over Google’s roadmap to kill cookies, and it has been assessing how it could affect internet commerce. Other regulators are watching Google to see how it adheres to evolving privacy standards, setting up an almost impossible task of satisfying privacy advocates and business interests. While rival Apple turned off Safari cookies in 2017 and erected data barriers within iPhones, Google had to comply with this higher regulatory scrutiny before making similar changes. Google’s massive market advantage, commanding more than 60% of the browser markets, and its internet advertising empire mean that any major changes to its browser and devices could unduly harm Google’s rivals in ad tech and media. In 2019, Google announced what it called Privacy Sandbox, a platform that would recreate programmatic advertising for the open web without sharing data about Chrome users in the online ad markets. Google’s plan was for ad tech vendors to test Privacy Sandbox, make it operational, and then kill cookies, a timeline it pushed back several times. In April, Google extended the cookie deadline again, from this year to mid-2025. Google faced a flurry of pushback from ad tech vendors that said Privacy Sandbox was not ready, and that it still couldn’t handle basic ad tech functions. Also read: Inside Google’s post-cookie ad tech troubles Google’s pivot to making cookies optional is creating some confusion about the future of online programmatic advertising. The Trade Desk CEO Jeff Green, one of Google’s biggest demand-side platform rivals and a Privacy Sandbox skeptic, welcomed Google’s move to spare cookies for now but also noted that much depends on how Google presents consumers with choices. “Google has finally acknowledged what the advertising industry has been saying for years—Privacy Sandbox is not a good product and doesn’t sufficiently protect consumer's privacy or empower advertisers. And it probably hurts publisher monetization most,” Green said in a LinkedIn post on Monday. “Google seems to finally acknowledge that the best option for them is to give consumers the choice. The question that remains is, will Google truly give consumers choice? Or will they make the decision for consumers and then bury consumer’s access to change it?” Many ad tech companies and marketers recall that consumers are quick to turn off tracking when given the choice, as seen by Apple users. About 70% to 80% of Apple iOS users reject tracking when apps request it, according to ad tech leaders. How consumers react to cookie tracking on Chrome will depend on how Google designs the prompt for consent. Apple famously worded its anti-tracking prompt in stark terms. “Whatever Google does, it will probably not be far removed from the precedent Apple already set,” said another ad tech exec, who also spoke on condition of anonymity. Watching the next steps Google has not said when it will roll out its new tracking options on Chrome or given details about the design. It’s clear that regulators will also be following that change, though. “Placing the cognitive burden on people has been proven not to work. No one really understands complex cookie consent dialogue boxes,” said James Rosewell, co-founder of Movement for an Open Web, which has been lobbying against Google’s proposed changes and Privacy Sandbox. “Online safety is achieved via regulation, transparency, verification, and the threat of meaningful sanctions … Regulators now understand the anticompetitive impact of Apple’s self-serving privacy practices. It would be inconsistent if they were to endorse a similar approach from Google.” There are sides of the ad tech industry that argue that regardless of what Google does with cookies, the technology is obsolete. There have been shifts in advertising budgets to connected TV, which doesn’t operate on cookies. Also, Apple already forced marketers and publishers to come up with new ways of serving ads without cookies. Still, cookie-based advertising is thriving, and in part that can be seen by Google’s struggle to stand up Privacy Sandbox. With cookies still available on the majority of traffic, it was tough getting ad tech companies to participate in Privacy Sandbox. About 25% of the browser market is cookieless, according to Anthony Katsur, CEO of IAB Tech Lab, a part of the industry trade group IAB. IAB Tech Lab was critical of Privacy Sandbox, releasing a stacked list of grievances with the platform’s performance and calling for more time to reach cookie deprecation. On Tuesday, Katsur welcomed the extra time with the cookie reprieve. “The industry will likely end up in the same place. We’re just taking a different, potentially longer route to get there,” Katsur said in an email to Ad Age. “It is important to await the exact implementation details of Chrome’s elevated ‘user choice’ approach to third-party cookies … The advertising ecosystem still requires multiple solutions to safely and effectively target consumers, including alternative IDs, server-side solutions, Privacy Sandbox, and cookies.”

Google’s cookie reversal causes uncertainty—ad execs and insiders react

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