"Implementing the Privacy Sandbox - the Chrome version, in particular - was always going to be an uphill battle, even when the initiative was first announced in 2019. At the time, Google was following in the footsteps of Apple's Safari and Mozilla's Firefox, both of which block third-party cookies by default. Google, however, wanted to have an alternative in place before deprecating cookies, so it invited feedback from across the industry."
"Ironically, that push for input may have inadvertently laid the groundwork for the Sandbox's eventual demise. As AdExchanger Managing Editor Allison Schiff puts it, "Consensus proved nearly impossible." Competitors and critics alike - including those who eventually launched a formal complain t to the UK's Competition and Markets Authority a few years later - worried that the Privacy Sandbox would give Google an unfair advantage in the ad tech marketplace. (Say what you want about the privacy issues inherent to third-party cookies, but at least they aren't owned by any particular vendor.)"
Google retired its Privacy Sandbox after nearly six years of development and delays, ending efforts to replace third-party cookies in Chrome. The initiative sought to create privacy-preserving advertising APIs as an alternative to third-party cookies while maintaining ad-supported business models. Broad industry consultation exposed deep divisions, making consensus difficult. Competitors and regulators argued the Sandbox risked giving Google an unfair advantage and prompted formal complaints to the UK's Competition and Markets Authority. Early testers reported API issues and increased latency that threatened ad revenue. Significant technical, commercial, and regulatory obstacles ultimately led to the project's quiet termination.
Read at AdExchanger
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