Competition advocates urge further Privacy Sandbox delays

Amid heightened anticipation that the end of third-party cookies is near, sources are calling for a further hiatus in Google Chrome’s retiring support for them as the industry awaits the outcome of its ongoing antitrust trials.

Some stakeholders are concerned its Privacy Sandbox proposals — a means of continuing behaviorally targeted advertising without the foundational technology — are tactics meant to evade government censure that may arise from its multiple anticompetitive tussles with governments on either side of the Atlantic.   

Such parties highlight how Google’s proposals within Privacy Sandbox effectively equate to the Chrome browser fulfilling the role of ad server and supply-side platform. For example, if Google’s proposals receive full approval from the U.K.’s Competition Markets Authority, effectively the global lead regulator on Privacy Sandbox, they argue, it could nullify any potential remedies sought by antitrust authorities in the U.S.   

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