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Google's new cookies policy gets provisional green light from UK watchdog

Published: 08:03 26 Nov 2021 GMT

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All research on this article conducted with the aid of the DuckDuckGo.com and Startpage.com search engines

The UK competition watchdog provisionally rubber-stamped search giant Google’s latest plans for a “privacy sandbox” to replace third-party cookies (TPCs) on browsers.

The decision comes after the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) opened an investigation in January into suspected breaches of competition law by Google following complaints of anticompetitive behaviour.

The privacy sandbox proposals are a set of proposed changes for Google’s popular Chrome browser that aim to address privacy concerns by removing the cross-site tracking of Chrome users through TPCs and other methods of tracking. The sandbox will create a set of alternative tools to provide the functionalities that are currently dependent on cross-site tracking, the CMA said.

The CMA, which has been working closely with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to assess the proposals, was not entirely happy with Google’s proposals and sent it away to come up with alternative proposals.

The new commitments from Google require that the CMA’s role (and ongoing process) is referenced in Google’s key public disclosures, including publication of a process for engaging with third parties and that Google reports regularly to the CMA on how Google has taken into consideration third-party views.

The changes will also put in place a more transparent process through which Google will develop and test the privacy sandbox proposals and extend the requirement that Google should test and trial (with the involvement of the CMA) all the privacy sandbox proposals that are amenable to quantitative testing, not just those intended as replacements for TPCs.

Google had been planning to include functionality that it has called Gnatcatcher, that will hide a user’s internet protocol (IP) address; the CMA has gained a commitment from Google that will only implement the Gnatchatcher proposal after making “reasonable efforts” to support websites’ ability to combat fraud and spam.

The new proposals also clarify the internal limits on the data that Google is allowed to use for the purposes of targeting and measuring digital advertising and confirm Google’s intent to use privacy sandbox tools in the future in the same ways as third parties will be able to use them.

The CMA has invited comments on its latest ruling. The comments need to be in by 5pm on 17 December.

“We have always been clear that Google's efforts to protect users' privacy cannot come at the cost of reduced competition. That's why we have worked with the Information Commissioner's Office, the CMA's international counterparts and parties across this sector throughout this process to secure an outcome that works for everyone,” said Andrea Coscelli, the chief executive of the CMA.

"We welcome Google's co-operation and are grateful to all the interested parties who engaged with us during the consultation.

"If accepted, the commitments we have obtained from Google become legally binding, promoting competition in digital markets, helping to protect the ability of online publishers to raise money through advertising and safeguarding users' privacy," Soscelli added.


 

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