3 6 Ke·2025-05-06 03:36Core Viewpoint - The termination of Google's Privacy Sandbox project, which aimed to phase out third-party cookies in Chrome, reflects significant industry resistance and regulatory pressures, highlighting the complexities of balancing user privacy with advertising business models [3][12]. Group 1: Background and Context - The "Facebook data scandal" in 2018 marked a pivotal moment for internet privacy, leading to a consensus on the importance of privacy security across the industry [1]. - Apple's introduction of intelligent tracking prevention in Safari in 2020 and Google's initial commitment to eliminate third-party cookies in 2021 were significant steps towards enhancing user privacy [1]. Group 2: Technical Aspects of Cookies - Cookies, developed by Netscape in 1994, serve as a means of information exchange between browsers and servers, primarily used to record user identities [5]. - First-party cookies enhance user experience by remembering login states and preferences, while third-party cookies allow advertisers to track user behavior across different websites [5][6]. Group 3: Industry Reactions and Implications - Google's decision to abandon the Privacy Sandbox project faced opposition from various stakeholders, including GitHub, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), and Microsoft, indicating widespread concern over the implications of such a move [3][9]. - The potential implementation of the Privacy Sandbox could have fundamentally restructured digital advertising by limiting advertisers' access to specific user data, thereby consolidating Google's control over user behavior insights [11]. Group 4: Regulatory Influence - The U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust actions against Google have intensified scrutiny on the company's practices, leading to concerns that the Privacy Sandbox could reinforce Chrome's market dominance under the guise of privacy protection [12].