Web Browser Discussion, Browser Talk - Slimjet Web Browser Online Forum

Google held an online Chrome Dev Summit last week, including an "Ask me anything" session in which the company was posed some awkward questions concerning its browser standards strategy.

"It's difficult for developers to meet growing expectations for privacy," said Barb Smith, global lead for Chrome and web platform partnerships, "when so many capabilities rely on third-party cookies and other cross-site tracking mechanisms that weren't designed with privacy in mind."

She went on to describe what she called "new privacy-preserving technologies," though top of the list of features was not privacy, but the ability to deliver "relevant ads and content."

Google argues that this is necessary to the business model of today's web, or what Smith called "a healthy, sustainable ecosystem." But privacy advocates are not convinced of this. Google's initiative is called Privacy Sandbox and includes technologies like FLOC, FLEDGE and first-party sets, which have proved contentious.

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