Privacy Sandbox's Quiet Retreat: What Google's Attribution API Pivot Means for the Open Web
Last updated Apr 19, 2026 by the ATDb Editorial Team
Ben Thompson analyzes Google's ongoing recalibration of Privacy Sandbox technologies, arguing that the Attribution Reporting API and Protected Audience API have failed to gain meaningful adoption among independent AdTech vendors. The piece contends that this effectively strengthens Google's walled garden rather than enabling the open web ecosystem it claimed to support.
Ben Thompson analyzes Google's ongoing recalibration of Privacy Sandbox technologies, arguing that the Attribution Reporting API and Protected Audience API have failed to gain meaningful adoption among independent AdTech vendors. The piece contends that this effectively strengthens Google's walled garden rather than enabling the open web ecosystem it claimed to support.