FLoC: WordPress promises to block Google’s ‘new cookies’

The creation and maintenance platform sites WordPress joined the fray against the new advertising system Google that replaces the famous cookies and increases user navigation trace.

In a post on the service’s official blog, WordPress announced that it will treat the Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC) as a security threat, preventing the feature from being used within the platform’s command center. According to those responsible for the publication, this is possible with just four lines of code that prevent the execution of the screening.

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Am I FLoCed? Credit: amifloced.org

According to the organization, “placing people in groups based on browsing habits probably facilitates discrimination in employment, housing, and other types, as well as predatory advertising of consumers without sophisticating them”.

And?

Their positioning is important: WordPress is responsible for 41% of all websites. That is, nearly half of all websites on the planet will stop using Google’s “new cookies.”

“This is coupled with privacy concerns about tracking people and sharing their data, apparently without informed consent, and makes it more difficult for regulators and legislators to protect people,” says the statement.

Google started testing FLoC in April 2021 from Google Chrome. WordPress version 5.8, which promises to debut the blockade, arrives until July this year. The Brave browser has also expressed its opposition to the project.

Test your browser on this website to see if you’re part of the limited number of people who are actively participating in the FLoC trial. You should easily avoid using Google Chrome if you are being “FloCed” and don’t want to use blocking extensions. If you can’t or won’t do that, at the very least, log out of your Google account, switch off “Web & App Activity,” and turn off “Ad Personalization” in your browser’s settings. These seem to work in removing users from the FLoC trial, at least for the time being.