CMA accepts Privacy Sandbox commitments from Google

The Competition and Markets Authority announced “legally binding commitments” from Google on Friday, to address competition concerns over its Privacy Sandbox product.

It said it was now moving to the next phase of its oversight, where it would supervise the Alphabet subsidiary to ensure the Privacy Sandbox was developed in a way that benefited consumers.

The competition regulator launched its investigation in January last year, over concerns that Google’s proposals would cause online advertising spending to become even more concentrated on the company, weakening competition and so harming consumers who ultimately pay for the cost of online advertising.

It was also concerned that the proposals could undermine the ability of online publishers, such as newspapers, to generate revenue and continue to produce valuable content in the future, reducing the public’s choice of news sources.

The CMA said the final commitments were a result of an “in-depth investigation and extensive engagement” with Google and market participants, including two formal public consultations.

It said the commitments addressed its competition concerns, with Google also saying it would roll out the commitments globally.

The commitments include the involvement of the CMA and the ICO in the development and testing of the Privacy Sandbox proposals, to ensure they achieve effective outcomes for consumers to protect both competition and privacy.

Google would also engage in a “more transparent process” than initially proposed, including engagement with third parties and publishing test results, with the option for the CMA to require Google to address issues raised by the CMA or third parties.

The regulator said Google would not remove third-party cookies until the CMA was satisfied that its competition concerns were addressed.

If the CMA was not satisfied, it could take further action such as reopening its investigation, imposing interim measures, or proceeding to a decision.

Google also made commitments to restrict the sharing of data within its ecosystem to ensure it would not gain an advantage over competitors when third-party cookies were removed, and commitments to not self-preference its advertising services.

A ‘monitoring trustee’ would be appointed to work alongside the CMA to ensure the commitments are effectively monitored and Google complies with its obligations.

The CMA said the appointment was expected to be made shortly.

“Our intervention in this case demonstrates our commitment to protecting competition in digital markets and our global role in shaping the behaviour of world-leading tech firms,” said the CMA’s chief executive officer Andrea Coscelli.

“The commitments we have obtained from Google will promote competition, help to protect the ability of online publishers to raise money through advertising and safeguard users’ privacy.

“While this is an important step, we are under no illusions that our work is done.”

Coscelli said the regulator was now moving into a new phase, where it would “keep a close eye” on Google as it developed the proposals.

“We will engage with all market participants in this process, in order to ensure that Google is taking account of concerns and suggestions raised.

“The CMA has secured a raft of mechanisms in the commitments that are designed to hold Google to account.”

The commitments would terminate six years from 11 February, unless released at an earlier date under the Competition Act, the CMA confirmed.