What Experts are Saying about Google’s Cookie Pause

The move came into play as Google decided that more time was needed in the ‘ecosystem’, giving advertisers, publishers and regulators the extra time they may need to adapt to the changes.

“This is important to avoid jeopardising the business models of many web publishers which support freely available content. By providing privacy-preserving technology, we as an industry can help ensure that cookies are not replaced with alternative forms of individual tracking, and discourage the rise of covert approaches like fingerprinting,” a representative from Google said in a blog post.

“By ensuring that the ecosystem can support their businesses without tracking individuals across the web, we can all ensure that free access to content continues. And because of the importance of this mission, we must take time to evaluate the new technologies, gather feedback and iterate to ensure they meet our goals for both privacy and performance, and give all developers time to follow the best path for privacy.”

Here’s what experts had to say on the decision:

Amit Ahuja, VP, Experience Cloud Product and Strategy, Adobe:

“Moving away from third-party cookies and toward first-party data puts consumers in control of how their data is used, while companies can deliver real-time experiences that are most relevant to consumers. Google’s delay gives brands more time, but it won’t change this trend. First-party data is the future of brand-consumer relationships built on trust—not just for advertising, but for all digital experiences. Our customers understand the urgency in making this shift and we are partnering with them on next-gen customer data platforms that focus on first-party data and connect disparate data across the organisation.”

Norman Guadagno, CMO at Acoustic:

“Companies like Google making decisions that have such far-reaching implications without fully consulting with every part of the complex ecosystem are now seeing pushback. Technology can change faster than the larger advertising and marketing ecosystem, so it’s important to think about what we can do as an industry to ensure that the implications of those changes are really understood. The big shift is in consumer privacy and expectations—and consumer voice really needs to have an equal seat at the table around changes like this.”

Farhad Divecha, Founder and Director, AccuraCast:

“We welcome this delay and only hope that Google uses this time to consult with the CMA as well as different parties that will be affected by the changes, including advertisers, agencies, publishers, and ad-tech and tracking solutions providers.”

Leigh Freund, CEO and President, Network Advertising Initiative:

“We appreciate Google’s thoughtful approach to ensuring a diverse, competitive, and privacy-preserving internet experience for consumers and businesses alike. [This is] an opportunity to take the time necessary to build an ecosystem that truly gives consumers the privacy and benefits they deserve.”

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