Attribution In The Cookieless World: Challenges & New Approaches

Digital advertising, which accounts for $700 billion in annual spend, has significantly impacted how businesses reach global markets and audiences. However, growing privacy concerns and regulations such as GDPR and CCPA are altering how advertisers collect and use data. With Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) and Google's phase out of cookies, the industry is moving toward privacy first solutions.

Varun Chivukula has been leader in the development of privacy enhancing technologies. His work at Meta has contributed to advertisers' ability to adapt to these changes by creating secure, data driven advertising solutions that do not compromise user privacy.

Chivukula has played a key role in transforming the measurement of digital ads at Meta, collaborating with major industry players to develop privacy first advertising measurement solutions. His innovations in privacy enhancing technologies have been instrumental in helping the industry transition to a cookieless environment.

While at Meta, Varun led marketing measurement for Meta's largest advertisers, who collectively account for $2.5 billion in ad spend. His efforts involved designing and prototyping the first industry wide pilots of privacy enhancing technologies (PETs) such as multiparty computation (MPC) and federated learning. These initiatives have established new benchmarks for secure and privacy preserving advertising methodologies.

Notably, his work demonstrates the viability of multiparty computation for large-scale user-level randomized control trials without the exchange of personally identifiable information (PII) between advertisers and ad platforms. By successfully piloting MPC for ad optimization, he has helped ensure that digital advertising retains its benefits while complying with evolving privacy regulations such as GDPR and CCPA.

The impact on Meta and the digital advertising landscape is valuable. As the advertising world adjusts to new regulations and technological changes like Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) and Google's upcoming cookie phase out, Chivukula has played a significant role in developing new measurement and optimization methods that avoid the exchange of personal identifiable information (PII). His efforts have not only helped Meta find sustainable solutions but have also influenced practices across the industry.

Varun Chivukula states, "The future of digital advertising involves balancing efficiency with privacy. By mapping Privacy Enhancing Technologies, we can ensure a sustainable, privacy first ecosystem that benefits both businesses and consumers."

As digital advertising continues to evolve, industry must prioritize privacy-conscious approaches to maintain consumer trust. The implementation of PETs is becoming a necessity in today's regulatory landscape. By adopting privacy-first solutions, businesses can strike a balance between personalization and data security, ensuring long term sustainability and effectiveness. Chivukula's contributions reflect this shift, setting the stage for a future where advertising remains effective while respecting user privacy.

Published on: Monday, May 05, 2025, 01:56 PM IST