Apple Moves Again To Suppress Trackers; China Could Force Shutdown Of TikTok US Operations

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Worm In The Apple

Apple is apparently cracking down on companies circumventing ITP’s seven-day expiration – continuing its rich history of quashing ITP workarounds. According to Cory Underwood, the engineer who flagged the issue, third-party tracking/measurement firms including big guns such as Adobe have used a process called CNAME cloaking to hide behind a first-party URL and set cookies without getting hammered by Apple. After diving into a WebKit channel, Underwood believes soon – possibly with iOS 14’s release – trackers hiding behind CNAME will get hit with an expiration. Underwood also added that since ITP impacts all iOS 14 devices, “there is a very good chance that this change will affect all browsers on those operating systems post upgrade.” And the reverb might go beyond ITP. A Google developer expert named Simo Ahava spoke with an Apple dev who said this change impacts all third-party cloaking, not just those listed by ITP. This change could result in issues with campaign and audience measurement, and it could also lead to publisher CPM declines, according to CafeMedia’s Paul Bannister.

Take My Ball And Go Home

“If we can’t have it, no one can!” Such is China’s attitude toward selling off TikTok’s United States operations. According to Reuters, the Chinese government thinks a forced sale would make ByteDance and China look weak, and would rather shutter TikTok’s US business. ByteDance told Reuters in a statement that the Chinese government had never suggested such a drastic move. In case you forgot what previously happened at this circus, President Trump has threatened to shut down TikTok, either due to security concerns or because its users hurt his feelings by trolling his campaign rally, unless ByteDance sells it by mid-September.

A Facebook Without Ads

It’s a blast from the past! Remember back in 2004 when Facebook had only college-going users and no ads? Those nostalgic for that experience can sign on to Facebook Campus, a special section that, according to a company spokesperson, won’t have ads “at this time.” (Of course, we all know what “at this time” really means in corporate-speak.) Facebook Campus users won’t be totally free of ads when they visit other places within Facebook. According to The Wall Street Journal, “Advertisers can’t target Campus users specifically … But Facebook will track Campus users’ activity to inform which ads and content it shows them elsewhere. And a user’s activity on the main Facebook app could also influence the type of content they see within Campus, according to the company.”

But Wait, There’s More!