News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Using the Topics API (Chrome Only, Opposed by Firefox/Saf... by philipwhiuk on Sunday September 15, 2024 @06:14PM (#41550899)
Google's defense is apparently "well it's better than 3rd party cookies"

Well we're getting rid of 3rd party cookies... so like, that was the absolute minimum bar.

It's a curious list of topics: https://github.com/patcg-individual-drafts/topics/blob/main/...

Does anyone know how the taxonomy was created.

Re:Using the Topics API (Chrome Only, Opposed by Firefox/Saf... by adv0r on Sunday September 15, 2024 @06:56PM (#41551198)
from iab context taxonomy
Re:Using the Topics API (Chrome Only, Opposed by Firefox/Saf... by treve on Sunday September 15, 2024 @09:01PM (#41551793)
I thought the removal of 3rd party cookies was also reversed.
Re:Using the Topics API (Chrome Only, Opposed by Firefox/Saf... by afavour on Sunday September 15, 2024 @11:06PM (#41552380)
Narrator: Google was, in fact, not getting rid of third party cookies
Re:Using the Topics API (Chrome Only, Opposed by Firefox/Saf... by luckydata on Monday September 16, 2024 @01:32AM (#41553041)
Note the plan was abandoned to satiate UK regulators, not a decision made unilaterally by Google
Re:Using the Topics API (Chrome Only, Opposed by Firefox/Saf... by afavour on Monday September 16, 2024 @08:05AM (#41555192)
No. Lets be clear: Google absolutely could have continued in their plan. They’d be doing what Apple and Mozilla already do today, after all. The problem is that Google’s alternatives to allow tracking by ad providers have run afoul of regulators and Google isn’t prepared to lose that ad revenue.
Re:Using the Topics API (Chrome Only, Opposed by Firefox/Saf... by IshKebab on Monday September 16, 2024 @01:46PM (#41558581)
Apple and Mozilla can do it because they don't have as much browser market share as Google, and they don't run their own advertising businesses.
Re:Using the Topics API (Chrome Only, Opposed by Firefox/Saf... by afavour on Monday September 16, 2024 @04:11PM (#41560202)
Yeah it's almost like there's an inherent conflict in one company being the leading browser provider and advertising broker!
Re:Using the Topics API (Chrome Only, Opposed by Firefox/Saf... by magicalhippo on Monday September 16, 2024 @03:25AM (#41553598)
Now you made me want to play The Stanley Parable again...
Re:Using the Topics API (Chrome Only, Opposed by Firefox/Saf... by threeseed on Sunday September 15, 2024 @11:11PM (#41552416)
Getting rid of third party cookies will not be an issue for advertisers.

They simply have websites use first party cookies, send the data server side to data harvesters, tie it all to a global user profile using either identifiers from the website or from fingerprinting and then serve targeted ads.

i.e. Conversions API (Meta), Server Side GTM (Google)

I would be surprised if most advertisers would even be interested in this topic API.

Re:Using the Topics API (Chrome Only, Opposed by Firefox/Saf... by remus on Monday September 16, 2024 @04:56AM (#41554109)
> They simply have websites use first party cookies, send the data server side to data harvesters, tie it all to a global user profile using either identifiers from the website or from fingerprinting and then serve targeted ads.

This is legally tricky because GDPR and similar legislation requires getting explicit consent from users for this to happen. Currently this is not very well enforced (imo) but it seems likely that enforcement will become increasingly stringent in years to come.

Re:Using the Topics API (Chrome Only, Opposed by Firefox/Saf... by realusername on Monday September 16, 2024 @05:42AM (#41554359)
> They simply have websites use first party cookies, send the data server side to data harvesters, tie it all to a global user profile using either identifiers from the website or from fingerprinting and then serve targeted ads.

That honestly sounds like circumvention of unauthorized access. That's just breaking software protections.

Re:Using the Topics API (Chrome Only, Opposed by Firefox/Saf... by wombarly on Monday September 16, 2024 @07:11AM (#41554860)
Websites are moving towards providing md5/sha1/sha256 hashes of your normalized email (stripping the + from gmail) or phone number to advertisers.

A basically permanent ID. Unified ID2 is one version of this.

The 3rd party cookie ban and heavy pushback against alternative solutions suggested by Google just pushed advertisers into going an even worse route privacy wise.

Re:Using the Topics API (Chrome Only, Opposed by Firefox/Saf... by IshKebab on Monday September 16, 2024 @01:45PM (#41558570)
Yes and this was pointed out on pretty much every thread about this, but it was always drowned out by the extremists. Most people on HN are extremists in this case.