Google freezes cookie crackdown amid legal heat and ad industry pushback

Google has paused its long-promised plans to roll out a new standalone prompt for third-party cookies in Chrome, signaling a retreat from one of the tech industry’s most-watched privacy shifts. Instead, the company says users can continue managing their cookie preferences through existing settings, a decision that comes as legal and industry pressures mount.

The announcement on Tuesday arrives on the heels of a landmark U.S. court ruling, where a judge found Google guilty of maintaining illegal monopolies in online advertising. The judgment threatens to upend Google's lucrative ad tech empire and could even force a breakup of its business, just as the company attempts to walk the line between privacy reform and preserving its digital dominance.

Despite years of working on its Privacy Sandbox, a Google-led initiative aimed at replacing invasive tracking tools with more privacy-conscious alternatives, the company now says consensus remains elusive. “There are divergent perspectives on making changes that could impact the availability of third-party cookies,” said Anthony Chavez, VP of the Privacy Sandbox team.

Google had previously pledged to phase out these cookies, which track users across websites to serve personalized ads. But pushback from advertisers fearing a power shift toward Google’s own platforms led to the plans being shelved in 2023. Now, it seems even the idea of giving users a more transparent choice is off the table.

While Google reiterated its commitment to advancing the Privacy Sandbox APIs, critics argue the company’s slow rollout and apparent backtracking serve its own business interests, especially as scrutiny from antitrust regulators intensifies globally.