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Mozilla 2021 Analysis

Title: Comments on SWAN and Unified ID 2.0

Authors: Martin Thomson (Mozilla), Eric Rescorla (Mozilla)

Abstract/Summary: SWA1 and Unified ID 2.0 (UID) describe a new approach to Web tracking. Each provides a service which assigns a pseudonymous identifier to each user that can then be used for tracking or ad targeting. While these proposals do not depend on third-party cookies, they rely on other technical mechanisms to bypass browser anti-tracking mechanisms. These proposals depend heavily on policy controls: asking the user for consent before tracking them and then restricting the use of tracking data. However, it is not possible for the user to verify that these policies are being followed and it is unclear whether it will be practical to effectively enforce them. Even if these policies were to be stronger and clearly enforceable, the end result would be a large number of entities possessing user browsing history, which is precisely the situation that browsers are currently trying to address.

Other: Blog post

gdoc_arrow_left_alt SWAN & Unified ID 2.0 TURTLEDOVE/PARAKEET Proposals gdoc_arrow_right_alt