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Every Major Advertising Group Is Blasting Apple for Blocking Cookies in the Safari Browser (adweek.com)

Posted by msmash on from the fighting-back dept.

The biggest advertising organizations say Apple will "sabotage" the current economic model of the internet with plans to integrate cookie-blocking technology into the new version of Safari. Marty Swant, reporting for AdWeek: Six trade groups -- the Interactive Advertising Bureau, American Advertising Federation, the Association of National Advertisers, the 4A's and two others -- say they're "deeply concerned" with Apple's plans to release a version of the internet browser that overrides and replaces user cookie preferences with a set of Apple-controlled standards. The feature, which is called "Intelligent Tracking Prevention," limits how advertisers and websites can track users across the internet by putting in place a 24-hour limit on ad retargeting. In an open letter expected to be published this afternoon, the groups describe the new standards as "opaque and arbitrary," warning that the changes could affect the "infrastructure of the modern internet," which largely relies on consistent standards across websites. The groups say the feature also hurts user experience by making advertising more "generic and less timely and useful."

14 of 442 comments (clear)

  1. The varnish is off by AlanObject · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Who could have predicted that consumer privacy would be a lesser concern than revenue flow to industry trade groups?

    1. Re:The varnish is off by Kenja · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Anyone. Anyone could have predicted that...

      --

      "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
    2. Re: The varnish is off by JohnFen · · Score: 5, Insightful

      There is nothing inherently wrong with advertising. It serves an important role.

      But it's gone very wrong, and not just online. I think it's gone wrong in three basic ways:

      1) It generally fails to fulfill one of the primary reasons for its existence: to actually and honestly inform people about products.

      2) It has become too pervasive. Ads shouldn't cover every square inch of everything.

      3) It has become way too intrusive.

      Personally, I'm resigned to the notion that #1 and 2 will never change.

      #3, though, is completely unacceptable. The fact that advertising companies spend so much time and energy working to defeat my efforts to keep them out of my metaphorical drawers means that they have placed themselves in the role of my enemy.

      And since they have chosen to be my enemy, I will treat them as such until/unless the time comes that they can act in a more decent fashion.

  2. Can ads get any less timely and useful? by TheCastro1689 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I bought a motorcycle helmet years ago, I still get ads for the helmet and others I researched. Fucking ads suck.

    1. Re:Can ads get any less timely and useful? by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I constantly get ads for the thing I've recently purchased.

      I can't imagine a less effective form of advertising.

      --
      I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
    2. Re: Can ads get any less timely and useful? by sexconker · · Score: 5, Funny

      Now I can sue Target for knowing I'm pregnant before I do, yet advertising scotch glasses to me, thus encouraging me to drink alcohol while pregnant!

  3. Targeted Ads? by in10se · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If I have to see ads on a web site, my preference is that they are "generic and less timely and useful" since I'm going to ignore them anyway.

    --
    Popisms.com - Connecting pop culture
  4. Re:Google, please get on board with this!!! by captainproton1971 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You do know that Google is an advertising company, right?

  5. It must be good then! by L-One-L-One · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If "Every Major Advertising Group" hates this, then it shows that Apple is probably doing the right thing :-)

    These guys killed "Do-Not-Track" in the US and made a joke of "cookie laws" in the EU. Looks like now they have found a stronger opponent.

    1. Re:It must be good then! by Anubis+IV · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It's both, in this case.

      1) Their major competitors rely on advertising, so disrupting the advertising market has the potential to damage their competitors.

      2) Ads diminish the user experience, so disrupting their ability to operate provides immense benefit to their users and could become a differentiating factor, given that their competitors can't afford to attack ads so directly.

      So yup, it's self-serving, but their interests align with consumers in this case, so we get to win.

  6. Block third-party cookies, done... by bradley13 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I hadn't thought about it, but all major browsers allow users to block third-party cookies. If they would only make this the default behavior, it would do a world of good. And piss of the marketeers even more.

    The only problem I ever have is when I want to read comments on a site that has outsource them to an external service like Disqus. But then, that's usually a good reason to skip the site entirely...

    --
    Enjoy life! This is not a dress rehearsal.
    1. Re:Block third-party cookies, done... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      And most of them will die off, and nothing of value will be lost.

      There was an internet before it was taken over by the likes of marketers, and it was great.

    2. Re:Block third-party cookies, done... by Quirkz · · Score: 5, Insightful

      * I understand that I haven't clicked on an ad on purpose since 1997, so even if blocked entirely, they're not losing any money from me.
      * I understand that advertisers can still advertise without cookies. They just can't invade my privacy to do it, and they might have to pick some other metric (like being topical to the site they're on) as an idea generator.
      * I understand that sites can still run ads and make money without the use of massive spying organizations. They can make their own ads. They can use cookie-less ads. They can do a lot of things.

      So no, I don't see how adding some privacy and cookie-blocking makes everything all go away automatically, without any recourse.

      --
      The Quirkz Handbook of Self-Improvement for People Who Are Already Pretty Okay
  7. Apple = Privacy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    For all of the complaints people have about Apple, I feel the one thing that really sets them apart is their continuing effort to protect the user's privacy, even at the cost of software functionality. Siri has been lagging far behind other services, and at least some of it is due to her inability to track a user's preferences and habits. Apple is now introducing changes to the software that attempt to solve this by storing the information locally on the user's device so that government and law enforcement officials can't "demand" the data from Apple.