Â鶹´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Google scraps plan to remove cookies from Chrome

In this May 1, 2019, file photo, a person walks past a Google sign in San Francisco. (Jeff Chiu / AP Photo, File) In this May 1, 2019, file photo, a person walks past a Google sign in San Francisco. (Jeff Chiu / AP Photo, File)
Share

Google is planning to keep third-party cookies in its Chrome browser, it said on Monday, after years of pledging to phase out the tiny packets of code meant to track users on the internet.

The major reversal follows concerns from advertisers - the company's biggest source of income - saying the loss of cookies in the world's most popular browser will limit their ability to collect information for personalizing ads, making them dependent on Google's user databases.

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority had also scrutinized Google's plan over concerns it would impede competition in digital advertising.

"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," Anthony Chavez, vice president of the Google-backed Privacy Sandbox initiative, said in a blog post.

Since 2019, the Alphabet unit has been working on the Privacy Sandbox initiative aimed at enhancing online privacy while supporting digital businesses, with a key goal being the phase-out of third-party cookies.

Cookies are packets of information that allow websites and advertisers to identify individual web surfers and track their browsing habits, but they can also be used for unwanted surveillance.

In the European Union, the use of cookies is governed by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which stipulates that publishers secure explicit consent from users to store their cookies. Major browsers also give the option to delete cookies on command.

Chavez said Google was working with regulators such as the UK's CMA and Information Commissioner's Office as well as publishers and privacy groups on the new approach, while continuing to invest in the Privacy Sandbox program.

The announcement drew mixed reactions.

"Advertising stakeholders will no longer have to prepare to quit third-party cookies cold turkey," eMarketer analyst Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf said in a statement.

Lena Cohen, staff technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said cookies can lead to consumer harm, for instance predatory ads that target vulnerable groups. "Google's decision to continue allowing third-party cookies, despite other major browsers blocking them for years, is a direct consequence of their advertising-driven business model," Cohen said in a statement.

(Reporting by Yuvraj Malik and Jeffrey Dastin in San Francisco; Editing by Devika Syamnath)

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

The wildfire fight in central B.C. intensified Friday, according to officials.

A university student from Brampton was killed when two shooters fired indiscriminately into a crowded plaza in Toronto last month in what police say was a 'cowardly act.'

What some B.C. construction workers describe as the worst aspect of their jobs will be coming to an end next month, the province announced.

Three teens were arrested for an armed robbery at a Kitchener jewelry store after witnesses caught and detained the suspects until officers arrived on scene.

Mary Grace Rico is seeking help in getting treatment for a rare spinal condition.

Local Spotlight

Roger Barker was looking forward to exchanging a book at one of the Little Free Libraries that had been erected in his neighbourhood, until he found it vandalized.

You never know what you might find in your doorbell camera footage...

Brenda Tremblay has been an avid gardener for the last 40 years, but this year’s harvest in Colpitts Settlement, N.B., is a tough nut to crack.

A group of seniors in Ontario is offering their time and experience as parents struggle to find reliable child care spaces.

Saskatchewan man Clyde Hall has been collecting and restoring antique farm equipment for five decades. He's now ready to part with his collection.

An Ottawa man has won the $3.8 million prize in the 'Catch the Ace' draw in Maniwaki, Que. Local radio station CHGA 97.3 has been playing their version of 'Catch the Ace' for nearly a year without a winner.

Herds of salamanders are crossing the road in western Manitoba by the dozens.

A black bear cub survived a 10-hour drive to Windsor while being fed Taco Bell after being found in the middle of a road near Cochrane, Ont.

A British Columbia woman who unsuccessfully sued her downstairs neighbour last fall for making too much noise has now failed in a bid to sue her upstairs neighbour for being too loud.