10:53 AM EDT, 06/13/2025 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with Google ( GOOG ) comment in the last paragraph.)

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority began a consultation process on releasing Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) Google ( GOOG ) from its commitments related to its Privacy Sandbox initiative, the regulator said Friday.

The commitments were made to assure the CMA that Privacy Sandbox will not favor Google's ( GOOG ) own ad-tech services on its Chrome browser over competitors. Google ( GOOG ) announced in April that it no longer plans to block third-party cookies under Privacy Sandbox or ask users to do this on Chrome, the CMA said.

"The CMA believes the commitments are no longer necessary and is now consulting before it takes a decision on whether to release them later this year," the regulator said. The consultation closes on July 4.

"We appreciate the work of the CMA and all of the companies who have spent time to test the Privacy Sandbox APIs," a Google ( GOOG ) spokesperson said in an emailed statement to MT Newswires. "This process has shown the value of collaborating with the industry on hard problems and we plan to continue to look for ways to do that."

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