ANA And 4As Condemn Chrome Cookie Decision; Pelosi Lashes Out At Facebook

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Cookie Crumbs

Industry trade bodies are not pleased with Google’s bombshell announcement this week that it would phase out support for third-party cookies over the next two years. In an open letter, the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s) said Google’s decision could have “major competitive impacts for digital businesses, consumer services and technological innovation” and would “threaten to substantially disrupt” the infrastructure of the digital ad ecosystem “without providing any viable alternative.” The trade bodies argue that “unilaterally” blocking third-party cookies could choke off startups and small businesses that rely on online advertising. The letter urges Google to reverse its decision until it can present an alternative, and promises to work with “stakeholders and policymakers” to come up with a viable replacement for the cookie. Ad Age has more.

The Speaker Speaks

Many politicians treat Facebook like a punching bag, and Mark Zuckerberg has called out Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who’s pushing for the breakup of Facebook and other big tech companies. But Facebook’s most damaging antagonist might be Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House and one of San Francisco’s congressional reps. Pelosi used to portray Facebook as an unwitting tool for Russian and foreign election interference. But since May, when the platform refused to remove a video doctored to make her look drunk and incoherent, she’s blasted Facebook as a knowing accomplice. At a weekly press briefing on Thursday, she unloaded on Facebook for cozying up to far right politicians and interest groups, CNBC reports. “All they want are their tax cuts and no antitrust action against them,” Pelosi said. “And they schmooze this administration in that regard because so far that’s what they have received.” More.

Private Practice

Facebook published an RFP for solutions that can make powerful inferences from data while still preserving user privacy. Facebook is offering grants of $60,000 for up to one year, and will prioritize projects that contribute open source code. Check out the full proposal. Facebook is taking a cryptographic approach to data privacy solutions. Some of the examples listed in the RFP are for modeled attribution, reach and frequency measurement and optimization toward off-site conversions like site purchases and newsletter or subscription sign-ups. Unsurprisingly, Facebook’s research priorities are eerily similar to the ideas Google is proposing in its new Privacy Sandbox, the developer toolkit for privacy features to replace the role of third-party cookies. H/t @Myles_Younger.

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