The cookie moves off of death row (for now)
“Google’s not-so-shocking move to postpone killing cookies in Chrome has divided the ad industry, yet again,” writes Ad Age’s Garett Sloane, “with advocates of a post-cookie web saying, ‘let the cookie go already.’ Other stakeholders in the complex ad tech landscape are giving Google a pass, asserting that the industry is not ready for such drastic changes without longer preparation, and especially during an economic downturn.”
The details: “On Wednesday, Google changed its post-cookie timeline,” Sloane notes, “marking the second time the company pushed back the date to shutter third-party cookies in Chrome. Google now says third-party cookies will go away in the second half of 2024.”
Essential context: “Google’s plan to replace cookies is clearly facing more difficulties than the company initially expected, and this new delay is just the latest sign that its privacy-enhanced roadmap is a bit of a mess, according to ad tech industry insiders,” Sloane adds. “Google has to walk a fine line because it is such a dominant player in browsers and ad tech, raising complicated competitive questions any time it makes a change.”
See also: “Meta, Google and others reveal the messy state of digital advertising,” also from Ad Age’s Sloane.
