The ICO has published a statement in response to the Competition and Markets Authority’s announcement that it has accepted a revised offer from Google of commitments relating to its proposed removal of third-party cookies from the Chrome browser, known as the “Privacy Sandbox” proposals (see item in “Advertising and Marketing”).

Stephen Bonner, ICO Executive Director for Regulatory Futures and Innovation, said that the ICO welcomes the commitments that the CMA has obtained from Google. “Consumers benefit when organisations recognise that data protection, privacy and competition objectives have to be considered together, and the commitments place obligations on Google to do this”, he said.

Mr Bonner continued: “We will continue to work with both organisations to ensure Google’s Privacy Sandbox proposals are compliant with data protection law and deliver good privacy outcomes for individuals. Our Commissioner’s Opinion set outs clear data protection standards that organisations must meet when developing online advertising technologies. As several proposals are under active development, we will continue to engage with organisations developing them to ensure that they raise standards of data protection and privacy.” To read the ICO’s statement in full, click here.