29/01/2020

Technology &  Regulation in the Spotlight

In continuation of Google’s previous announcement regarding its plans to develop open standards to enhance privacy on the web, Google has recently announced that it will phase out support for third-party cookies in its browser Chrome, within the next two years.

Google claims that despite users’ demand for greater privacy, including requirements for more control and transparency, blocking third party cookies without providing an alternative, might have unintended consequences that will adversely impact the web ecosystem. Hence, Google is currently developing its “Privacy Sandbox” which is intended to make the web more private and secure for users. The proposed Sandbox will allow users to share as little as possible about themselves and their browsing history, while also supporting the needs of the Adtech industry, which is currently largely dependent on the use of cookies for personalization of content.

Due to the potential impact on the ecosystem, Google states that is does not wish to obtain the solution alone and that it needs to engage in efforts and to test potential use cases. According to the blogpost, the company has already received positive feedbacks from the web community and the W3C, representing that the Sand Box has key use-cases. The company is planning to start testing its Privacy Sandbox by the end of 2020.

As previously reported, Google also reminds its users that commencing February 2020, Chrome will limit insecure cross site tracking technologies, making third-party cookies more secure and giving users precise browser cookie control.

Google’s efforts can be seen within the context of recent efforts by the European privacy regulators to enhance enforcement on the use of cookies and other tracking technologies in the last couple of months.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions on how to lawfully implement cookies and on implementing compliant cookie consent management tools.

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Feel free to contact us with any further question or comments regarding the update and subjects detailed above.

Kind regards,

Ariel Yosefi, Partner

Co-Head – Technology & Regulation Department

Herzog Fox & Neeman