LONDON — Britain’s competitors regulator can have a say in Google’s plan to take away third-party browser cookies that monitor individuals on-line.

The Competition and Markets Authority mentioned Friday that it had secured commitments from Google to handle issues concerning the proposal. The CMA is nervous that the plans will hurt newspapers and different companies that depend on customized advertisements.

Web cookies are small items of code that web sites ship to a customer’s browser. They can be utilized to trace on-line exercise, resembling objects added to a procuring basket. Third-party cookies are sometimes added by advertisers to serve individuals with customized advertisements.

Google plans to scrap third-party cookies on its Chrome browser and change them with another. The firm launched an initiative referred to as “Privacy Sandbox” final 12 months, in a bid to handle privateness issues with cookies. The CMA launched a formal probe into the modifications in January.

Google dedicated to contain the CMA and the Information Commissioner’s Office, the U.Okay.’s privateness watchdog, within the improvement of its Privacy Sandbox proposals. The firm promised to publicly disclose outcomes of any exams of the effectiveness of options, and mentioned it would not give preferential remedy to Google’s promoting merchandise or websites.

“If accepted, the commitments we have obtained from Google become legally binding, promoting competition in digital markets, helping to protect the ability of online publishers to raise money through advertising and safeguarding users’ privacy,” Andrea Coscelli, chief government of the CMA, mentioned in a press release.

The CMA mentioned it will seek the advice of with “interested third parties” earlier than deciding whether or not to simply accept Google’s commitments. If accepted, the watchdog would drop its enforcement case and interact with Google on the main points of its proposals.

“We appreciate the CMA’s thoughtful approach throughout the review and their engagement with the difficult trade-offs that this process inevitably involves,” Oliver Bethell, Google’s director of authorized, mentioned in a blog post.

“We also welcome feedback from the public consultation and will continue to engage with the CMA and with the industry on this important topic” Bethell added. “We understand that our plans will be scrutinized, so we’ll also continue to engage with other regulators, industry partners and privacy experts as well.”

The transfer is the newest signal of the CMA’s growing role in scrutinizing main U.S. tech corporations — that are going through antitrust probes around the globe — after Brexit. The watchdog has been tasked by the federal government with establishing a brand new Digital Markets Unit to police competitors within the U.Okay.’s digital market.

Last week, the U.Okay. and European Union launched two separate competition probes into Facebook on the identical day. Meanwhile, Apple can be going through antitrust investigations in both Britain and Europe.