【商業熱話】谷歌放棄cookieless計畫 第三方cookie續可追蹤用戶行為 Google Abandons Cookieless Plan: Third-Party Cookies Continue to Track User Behavior
經過數年延期，科技巨企Alphabet期下的谷歌（Google）宣布放棄在其chrome瀏覽器上推動撤消及取代第三方cookie（數碼存根）的計畫，俗稱「無cookie」（cookieless）計畫。
Cookie為一小段，在用戶透過瀏覽器瀏覽網站時，由網站傳送給用戶瀏覽器的代碼，可紀錄及追蹤用戶在該網站的行為及情資訊，只在當前瀏覽網站使用。而第三方cookie則由瀏覽網站與用戶以外的第三方（如廣告商）所設置，在多個網站共享、可跨網站使用，有助於追蹤用戶的廣告行為、跨網站行為等。
廣告商及企業，可透過網站、軟件，運用第三方cookie，將不同資料進行更深度的保存與分析，進而了解使用者的性別、年齡、身分，喜好等資料，再對目標消費群體精準投放個性化廣告。然而第三方cookie引發用戶隱私爭議，谷歌與亞馬遜（Amazon）更曾因為cookie被法國資訊數據監管機構分別罰款1億歐元及3,500萬歐元。
谷歌在2020年時宣布，若能兼顧用戶、企業、廣告商等多方需要，將在2022年停止支援第三方cookie。谷歌表示將跟據瀏覽行為將用戶分成不同「同類群組」（cohorts）；第三方將不會再獲得個人ID，而是獲得群組ID（cohorts ID）作追蹤之用。為推行計畫，谷歌在當時推出了「私隱沙盒」（Privacy Sandbox）以進行測試。
然而測試並不順利，cookieless計畫一再延期，除了廣告商反映結果未如理想外，亦引發了壟斷競爭的爭議。2021年，英國競爭及市場管理局（CMA）曾對谷歌停止支援第三方cookie，是否涉及藉此打壓競爭對手而展開調查。同年，據路透社報道，美國司法部亦關注谷歌的cookieless計畫，是否對較小型同業構成不公平競爭。
經歷眾多波折後，谷歌在美國時間周一（22日）稱，在得到廣告商及監管機構的回饋下，宣布放棄cookieless計畫。不淘汰第三方cookie的同時，谷歌將知會用戶可對其chrome瀏覽器設定上網選項，並可隨時修改。
After years of delays, tech giant Alphabet's Google has announced that it will abandon its plan to phase out and replace third-party cookies on its Chrome browser, commonly referred to as the "cookieless" plan.
A cookie is a small piece of code sent by a website to users’ browsers when they are browsing. The code serve to record and track the user's behavior and information on that site, but only for the current browsing session. Third-party cookies, however, are set by entities other than the website being visited, such as advertisers, and can be shared across multiple sites. They are used to track user’s behavior across different websites and facilitate targeted advertising.
Advertisers and businesses can use third-party cookies through websites and software to save and analyze various data in-depth, thereby understanding users' gender, age, identity, preferences, etc., and precisely targeting intended consumer groups by customised advertisements. However, third-party cookies have raised privacy concerns among users. Both Google and Amazon have been fined €100 million and €35 million respectively by the French data protection authority for issues related to cookies.
In 2020, Google announced that if it could balance the needs of users, businesses, and advertisers, it would stop supporting third-party cookies by 2022. Google proposed grouping users based on browsing behavior into different "cohorts." Instead of receiving individual IDs, third parties would receive cohort IDs for tracking purposes. To implement this plan, Google launched the "Privacy Sandbox" for testing.
However, the experiment did not go smoothly, and the cookieless plan was repeatedly delayed. Advertisers reported unsatisfactory results, and there were also concerns about monopolistic competition. In 2021, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigated whether Google's move to stop supporting third-party cookies was aimed at suppressing competitors. That same year, Reuters reported that the US Department of Justice was also concerned that Google's cookieless plan might unfairly put smaller competitors into disadvantage.
After numerous setbacks, Google announced on Monday (22nd) that, with the feedbacks from advertisers and regulatory bodies, it would abandon the cookieless plan. While not eliminating third-party cookies, Google will inform users that they can set their browsing options on Chrome and modify them at any time.