Google's U-turn on handling cookies in Chrome

After years of tug-of-war, Google is dropping a plan that would have made it more difficult for the advertising industry to track users across different websites. The internet company had announced in 2020 that it wanted to push out so-called third-party cookies in its Chrome web browser by default. However, following headwinds from the advertising industry and regulators, there has now been a rethink: instead, users should be able to block cookies, which are switched on by default.

Cookies are frequently used small data records that are stored on users' computers and smartphones. Thanks to them, a website can recognize users, for example.

Track through the web thanks to cookies

However, for years there has been criticism of third-party cookies that are not set by the visited website itself, but by advertising service providers, for example. Thanks to these cookies, they can follow users across the web with their advertising and also create profiles for personalized ads.

In Apple's Safari web browser and Firefox, third-party cookies are blocked by default and can be activated by users. However, Google's plans to do so have met with resistance - not only from the advertising industry, but also from regulators.

Concerns of regulators

Since 2021, British regulatory authorities have been investigating whether the project could harm competition in digital advertising. Chrome has a market share of more than 60 percent among browsers. It was feared that the change would cut off Google's advertising competition - while the internet company's own advertising tools would become more attractive.

According to the new plan, Chrome users should make a "conscious decision" about cookies, which should apply everywhere on their journey through the web, according to a Google blog post on Monday. Google is talking to regulators about the proposal. (SDA/swi)