Ad industry tallies early losses from Apple’s Safari tracking block
A week after Apple’s Safari block, the ad industry is still waiting for the other shoe to drop.
The online advertising industry has suffered losses once before from Apple's actions, and now it's facing new challenges. Its recent software update disabled certain tracking companies within Safari, preventing them from functioning altogether. This isn't the first time Apple has restricted tracking; previous crackdowns in 2017 and 2021 caused billions in industry losses, with Meta estimating the second one alone would result in $10 billion in damages.
These historical precedents have left ad executives on edge as the current block was announced unexpectedly and affected major players without prior notice. The list of blocked tracking companies is a closely guarded secret, known only to a handful of individuals within Apple. Given the industry's prior experience with Apple's disruptive strategies, concerns have been heightened about the potential financial impact before any quantification of the damage can be determined. For more details, read the full article on digiday.com.
Written by urgent.news from Digiday's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
