Watchdog CMA raises additional concerns about Google's Privacy Sandbox

Delhi: The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provided further insights on the advantages and disadvantages of Google's initiatives to replace third-party cookies with its own alternatives within its Privacy Sandbox.

One new addition to the report is the concern regarding Google's approach to attribution, suggesting that 'single-touch' attribution could potentially benefit Google.

Stakeholders are worried that Google may most likely be the 'last touch' and consequently capture a larger share of the value from conversions compared to other market participants.

Sharing an example, CMA wrote, “A current user journey may involve seeing an ad several times on different properties (e.g. a publisher site, their social media feed, etc) before the user takes an action. Users may also act on their intent to convert by searching for the advertised product.” 

Google's Privacy Sandbox program offers an alternative to third-party cookies, allowing advertisers to deliver targeted ads in Chrome while reducing unauthorised cross-site and cross-app tracking.