Perfection Thwarting Progress: Response to IAB Tech Lab’s Missive on Google’s Privacy Sandbox

Let’s take this opportunity to innovate outside the Google universe.

Mathieu Roche, CEO of ID5

“The report is listing issues but not constructively addressing [these problems],” Wlodarczyk added.

By dedicating so much time to Privacy Sandbox, the IAB Tech Lab is neglecting other identity solutions that might do a better job in solving advertisers’ needs, said Mathieu Roche, CEO of alternative ID solution ID5. Google has long dominated advertising with its technology, and the problems with the Privacy Sandbox application-programming interface could give the rest of the industry an opening, he added.

“We’re saying we really need Google to save us again,” Roche said. “Let’s take this opportunity to innovate outside the Google universe.”

Valid complaints: Attribution Reporting API

Some independent ad-tech companies might disagree with the tenor of the IAB Tech Lab’s report, but many agree with its specific complaints.

One ad-tech executive, who asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press, noted that the Attribution Reporting API, also a focus of the IAB Tech Lab analysis, makes it too difficult and lengthy for advertisers to know if their campaigns performed.

A Google representative said that the Attribution Reporting API doesn’t necessarily make attribution take longer than current ad-tech systems, but it does introduce noise into the process, which means that a brand will need more data to have precise reporting.

With its analysis, the IAB Tech Lab is kicking off a period of public comment, which will end March 22.

Sure to weigh in is Google, which says the IAB Tech Lab’s analysis includes dozens of errors, inaccuracies and instances of incomplete information, a spokesperson said.

“While we’re disappointed that IAB Tech Lab released the report in this state, we’re encouraged by the many IAB members who are actively building solutions using the Privacy Sandbox APIs,” the spokesperson said. “And we look forward to partnering with the IAB Tech Lab in transitioning the industry toward more private solutions.”

The IAB Tech Lab also notes that the Privacy Sandbox raises governance concerns, given that proprietary solutions that affect the entire industry are controlled by Google, and they cannot easily be amended based on stakeholder feedback.

“What’s the operating governance? It increases the industry reliance on Google,” said Mike O’Sullivan, co-founder of data firm Sincera, noting that Google has been accused of anti-competitive schemes in the 2020 antitrust case brought by a group of attorneys general. “That wasn’t a generation ago. That’s the same company.”