Google announced on Monday that it will continue to support third-party cookies in its Chrome browser, despite previous commitments to eliminate the tracking technology.

This shift comes after significant pushback from advertisers, who rely heavily on cookies to gather user data for personalized advertising, and concerns from regulators about the impact on competition.

Google’s change of course follows intense scrutiny from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which raised concerns that removing third-party cookies could harm competition in the digital advertising market. Advertisers, a key revenue source for Google, argued that the loss of cookies would force them to depend on Google’s user data, potentially consolidating Google’s dominance in the market.

“Rather than phasing out third-party cookies, we are introducing a new experience in Chrome that allows users to make informed choices about their web browsing privacy, with the option to adjust those settings at any time,” said Anthony Chavez, Vice President of the Google-backed Privacy Sandbox initiative, in a blog post.

Since 2019, Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has been developing the Privacy Sandbox initiative aimed at enhancing online privacy while supporting the digital advertising ecosystem. A major component of this initiative was the proposed elimination of third-party cookies, which are small pieces of code that track users across the internet.

Cookies help websites and advertisers identify and monitor users’ online behavior, but they have also raised privacy concerns due to their potential for unwanted surveillance. In the European Union, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) mandates that websites obtain explicit user consent before storing cookies, and most major browsers offer users the ability to delete cookies.

Chavez stated that Google is working closely with regulators, including the UK’s CMA and Information Commissioner’s Office, as well as with publishers and privacy advocacy groups, to develop this new approach while continuing to invest in the Privacy Sandbox program.

The response to Google’s announcement was mixed. “Advertising stakeholders can breathe a sigh of relief, as they no longer need to prepare for an abrupt end to third-party cookies,” said eMarketer analyst Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf.

Conversely, Lena Cohen, a staff technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, expressed concerns about the potential negative impacts of cookies. “Cookies can lead to harmful consequences for consumers, such as predatory ads targeting vulnerable groups. Google’s decision to retain third-party cookies, while other major browsers have blocked them for years, reflects their advertising-driven business model,” Cohen said in a statement.

This decision highlights the ongoing tension between maintaining user privacy and supporting the economic interests of the digital advertising industry. As Google continues to navigate this complex landscape, the debate over online privacy and the role of tracking technologies is likely to persist.