Everyone knows what cookies are. Those annoying little bits of code that follow you everywhere on the internet. Nearly every website has them and they use them to determine your browsing and shopping habits so they can put the most tantalizing ads in front of you. They also sell all that sweet, sweet data to others so they can tailor their own marketing. If it bothers you that all of these different companies are tracking you so closely, you aren’t alone.
Don’t worry though! Google ‘may’ have found a ‘privacy friendly’ substitute for cookies. You’ll pardon us if we don’t break out the party hats and spinners just yet. First, what do they mean by ‘may’? Did they or did they not? If you don’t know, kindly come back to me when you do. Second, what would this substitute be exactly? And what does ‘privacy friendly’ mean? After all, if you are being tracked, you’re being tracked – period. If the trackers don’t directly know your name or address it hardly matters. They still know where to find you online, which is the main point anyway. But, let’s delve into this a bit.
Now Google, Apple, and Mozilla all say they are phasing out tracking software. If that’s true, then it would be surprising. After all, cookies have been a vital part of the internet’s marketing ecosystem, a system collectively worth around $330 billion. I wouldn’t be expecting these companies to leave all that money on the table. If you think about it, all of these companies have tracking and invading people’s privacy as a fundamental part of their business model.
So, what is their claim? How will these companies be protecting your privacy while still raking in plenty of cash? They are calling it ‘Federated Learning of Cohorts’ (FLOC). What is this FLOC? It’s an Application Programming Interface (API) that replaces cookies and would exist as a browser extension. It’s unclear how different in practice this will actually be from cookies. The primary difference, for now, looks to be that it will put the choice of whether or not they are used in the hands of the user. Which is actually good. At least you can more readily consent to being tracked by everyone you go.
Naturally, not everyone is happy with this development. Facebook in particular has voiced displeasure with Apple’s transition to FLOC and other privacy changes in the App Store. Yet, do they really have much to be concerned about? Google for example has said they are taking an ‘industry first’ approach and not transitioning away from cookies in the immediate future. Note that bit about ‘industry first’. This approach allows time for Facebook, Twitter, and everyone else to find ways to adapt to the situation. Eventually, they will move away from cookies altogether but not before ways can be found to keep that $330 billion train rolling. They’ll keep the cash and claim victory for privacy rights. Or to borrow a phrase, they’ll have their cake and eat it too.
Another clue that this is really what is going is the word ‘may’ that was used at the beginning. They aren’t definitely going with FLOC and they are trying out different approaches. Whatever they land on will likely be sold as a ‘balance between the interest of individuals and the industry as a whole’. Which is just a fancy way of saying not much is really changing.
Instead of an ‘industry first’ mentality, might we at TARTLE suggest another approach? How about trying a ‘people first’ approach. Start with the idea that these people own their own data and if you want it, they have to choose to give it to you. In fact, maybe you’ll have to pay them for it and share some of that $330 billion. That’s treating data, and the people behind it like they are worth something like they are sovereign individuals. And that is a little revolution.
What’s your data worth? www.tartle.co
