WordPress developers against Google’s ad targeting
The discussions about alternatives to third-party cookies to target advertising continue with also some WordPress core developers arguing in favour of blocking Google’s new alternative identifier. Recently search engine DuckDuckGo reacted against Google’s FLoC. WordPress says it powers approximately 41% of the web.
No WordPress decision has been made to block FLoC, but the official WordPress core developers are discussing a proposal to block it.
Some in the developer community questioned adding FLoC blocking to previous older versions of WordPress that publishers are still using, arguing that it might undermine trust. Others suggested that FLoC should be treated as a security problem and backported.
Google has earlier announced that the third-party cookies, used to target advertising, will be scrapped referring to privacy reasons. The company has said it will not introduce any new individual identifiers. Instead, it has launched FLoC (Federated Learning of Cohorts) that can identify categories of users with similar interests etc. The idea is to use such categories to address advertising instead of the individual identifier.
Publishers have objected saying this means that Google’s position on the ad market will be even stronger.
DUCKDUCKGO
DuckDuckGo reacted to Google’s decision to begin tracking user groups without their consent. The company finds it especially concerning that getting tracked via FLoC is not optional and that all Chrome users are automatically opted into it.
“We’re disappointed that, despite the many publicly voiced concerns with FLoC that have not yet been addressed, Google is already forcing FLoC upon users without explicitly asking them to opt in. We’re nevertheless committed and will continue to do our part to deliver on our vision of raising the standard of trust online,” DuckDuckGo said.
VERIZON
Verizon Media has launched an alternative to Google’s suggested FLoC, called Next/Gen Solutions.
The Next-Gen taps into content and other real-time data signals, to feed machine learning algorithms that allow advertisers to connect with their most relevant users via audience characteristics. The idea is no need for cookies, mobile app IDs, browser storage or creating user-level profiles.
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