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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\u2019t alone.\xa0

Don\u2019t worry though! Google \u2018may\u2019 have found a \u2018privacy friendly\u2019 substitute for cookies. You\u2019ll pardon us if we don\u2019t break out the party hats and spinners just yet. First, what do they mean by \u2018may\u2019? Did they or did they not? If you don\u2019t know, kindly come back to me when you do. Second, what would this substitute be exactly? And what does \u2018privacy friendly\u2019 mean? After all, if you are being tracked, you\u2019re being tracked \u2013 period. If the trackers don\u2019t 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\u2019s delve into this a bit.\xa0

Now Google, Apple, and Mozilla all say they are phasing out tracking software. If that\u2019s true, then it would be surprising. After all, cookies have been a vital part of the internet\u2019s marketing ecosystem, a system collectively worth around $330 billion. I wouldn\u2019t 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\u2019s 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 \u2018Federated Learning of Cohorts\u2019 (FLOC).\xa0 What is this FLOC? It\u2019s an Application Programming Interface (API) that replaces cookies and would exist as a browser extension. It\u2019s 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.\xa0

Naturally, not everyone is happy with this development. Facebook in particular has voiced displeasure with Apple\u2019s 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 \u2018industry first\u2019 approach and not transitioning away from cookies in the immediate future. Note that bit about \u2018industry first\u2019. 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\u2019ll keep the cash and claim victory for privacy rights. Or to borrow a phrase, they\u2019ll have their cake and eat it too.\xa0

Another clue that this is really what is going is the word \u2018may\u2019 that was used at the beginning. They aren\u2019t definitely going with FLOC and they are trying out different approaches. Whatever they land on will likely be sold as a \u2018balance between the interest of individuals and the industry as a whole\u2019. Which is just a fancy way of saying not much is really changing.

Instead of an \u2018industry first\u2019 mentality, might we at TARTLE suggest another approach? How about trying a \u2018people first\u2019 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\u2019ll have to pay them for it and share some of that $330 billion. That\u2019s treating data, and the people behind it like they are worth something like they are sovereign individuals. And that is a little revolution.\xa0

What\u2019s your data worth? www.tartle.co