In an unsurprising turn of events, Google has once again delayed the elimination of third-party cookies from its Chrome browser. The tech giant announced this decision on Tuesday, just ahead of its quarterly reports and the ever-watchful eye of the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which has been closely monitoring the situation.
Google refrained from providing a more specific timeline beyond expressing hope for 2025
“We acknowledge the ongoing challenges in reconciling the diverse feedback from the industry, regulators, and developers, and will continue to actively engage with the entire ecosystem,” a statement on Google’s Privacy Sandbox website reads. “It’s also crucial that the CMA has sufficient time to review all evidence, including results from industry tests, which the CMA has requested market participants to provide by the end of June. Given these significant considerations, we will not complete the deprecation of third-party cookies during the second half of Q4.” Google refrained from providing a more specific timeline beyond expressing hope for 2025.
This marks the third time Google has pushed back its original deadline, which was set in January 2020. Initially, the tech behemoth promised to phase out third-party cookies “within two years” to enhance user security while browsing the web. However, since then, Google has hit the brakes twice, each time granting the advertising industry more preparation time for a change surrounded by uncertainties and ambiguities. Even at the beginning of this year, as Google phased out cookies for one percent of browser traffic, questions loomed over when more substantial changes would occur.
With this track record, Google’s latest delay is unlikely to surprise many. Even those caught off guard might be granted a pass, as Google had been preaching for months that third-party cookies would vanish from Chrome by the end of 2024.
However, meeting the deadline appeared increasingly improbable, especially after the CMA raised 39 “concerns” to be addressed before the plan could proceed back in January. Furthermore, with the U.K. data watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), voicing its own reservations earlier this month, the plot thickened. Additionally, the fact that Google’s own alternatives to third-party cookies (the aforementioned Sandbox) left much to be desired, another delay seemed inevitable.
“We welcome Google’s announcement clarifying the timing of third-party cookie deprecation. This will allow time to assess the results of industry tests and resolve remaining issues,” said a CMA spokesperson. “Under the commitments, Google has agreed to resolve our remaining competition concerns before going ahead with third-party cookie deprecation. Working closely with the ICO, we expect to conclude this process by the end of 2024.”
For now, Google appears to have set its sights on next year as the latest target date for eliminating third-party cookies.
“We remain committed to engaging closely with the CMA and ICO, and we hope to conclude that process this year,” Google’s statement read. “Assuming we can reach an agreement, we envision proceeding with third-party cookie deprecation starting early next year.”
Needless to say, the advertising industry isn’t holding its breath.
This sentiment was evident in the latest survey conducted by Digiday+ Research, which asked 46 marketers for their thoughts on the third-party cookie timeline. Of those who responded, 39% believed it would happen at some point in Q2 2025 or beyond, while 26% believed Google would get rid of third-party cookies in the Chrome browser before the end of the year.
“It’s unsurprising news, given the magnitude of what is happening and the involvement of the CMA, but ultimately still frustrating,” said Wayne Blodwell, founder and CEO of Impact Media, an AI-powered attention platform. “However, smart measurement is comfortably the largest way advertisers can create competitive advantage by leaning into durable/non-cookie methods such as attention, MMM, and econometrics and connecting that to media buying, so it really shouldn’t slow down the sophisticated & progressive advertisers anyway.”
