Navigating Google’s Cookie U-Turn: Where Do Publishers And Advertisers Go From Here?

Publishers have long followed the will they, won’t-they breakup drama between Google and its data-collecting cookies, and just as it appeared that the tech giant was ready to phase them out eventually, the company announced recently that, no, they’re canceling that phase-out plan and keeping them after all.

Having a hard time keeping up? You’re not alone. 

If nothing else, just know Google has forever ruined the dessert’s good name.

Google’s Take On Its Cookie Reversal

“[One] important element of Privacy Sandbox involves the way that third-party cookies are treated in Chrome, and last summer, we shared that we were exploring a new approach,” writes Anthony Chavez, Google’s VP, Privacy Sandbox. “As we’ve engaged with the ecosystem, including publishers, developers, regulators, and the ads industry, it remains clear that there are divergent perspectives on making changes that could impact the availability of third-party cookies. … We’ve made the decision to maintain our current approach to offering users third-party cookie choice in Chrome, and will not be rolling out a new standalone prompt for third-party cookies.”

Chavez cites many of the changes that have taken place since Google announced the initiative in 2019, including privacy-enhancing technologies, AI-assisted browsing security and safeguards, and that “the regulatory landscape around the world has evolved considerably.”

Writing about the unknown catalyst behind what she calls Google’s “u-turn,” MediaPost’s Laurie Sullivan writes, “whether the monopoly lawsuits in search and publish prompted the decision … one thing is certain: publishers, advertisers, agencies and platforms have spent millions of dollars and thousands of hours in compliance to adhere to the changes.”

Regulation’s Effect On Google’s U-Turn

Sullivan spoke with James Rosewell, co-founder of Movement for an Open Web, who believes Google held industries ransom to force compliance to their rules until their own regulation obstacles became too insurmountable and it was easier for the company to simply call the whole thing off.

“The digital advertising market has been operating in a fog of uncertainty for nearly five years as a result of Google’s abortive attempt to seize control,” Rosewell said of the “unforgivable” abandonment. “Endless millions of hours and dollars have been wasted by companies in preparation for this, and many millions more have been lost in opportunity cost and thwarted investment.”

And while it’s hardly a consolation prize, the renaissance of first-party data is something that has proven to publishers, marketers, and anyone else paying attention to be of much value. 

All that planning and investing doesn’t have to be for naught. If you choose to look at it in the right light, all of that has simply helped to diversify audience targeting by making cookie-complementing lemonade from the lemons forced upon us by Google.