Google’s planned changes to end third-party cookies are expected to impact almost nine out of 10 Irish organisations, but most are not aware of the issue, according to a survey from Compliance Institute.

The professional body, formerly known as the Association of Compliance Officers of Ireland, conducted a survey with 144 compliance professionals in Irish organisations regarding Google’s proposed third-party cookie ban on Chrome.

Nearly 75pc of the respondents said there is little to no awareness of the issue within their organisation, despite the high number who said that the changes will have an impact.

“These findings point towards a lack of awareness, a lack of preparation, and possibly a lack of collaboration,” said Compliance Institute CEO Michael Kavanagh. “All of which are concerning from a compliance perspective.”

Google proposed a third-party cookie ban on Chrome that was intended to come into effect this year, but was pushed back to 2023 after a mixed response to its alternative proposals. The ban was a win for the privacy conscious but concerns were raised by the ad industry.

The professional body said marketing departments are undergoing a “fundamental shift” in the way they use and capture data as a result of changes to how businesses can use third-party cookies.

However, more than half of those surveyed said there was no work being done between marketing and compliance teams to develop alternative data strategies, while 14pc said they would like to be working more closely with the marketing department of their organisation.

Kavanagh said it was clear that “greater cross collaboration and communication is needed” and that both marketers and compliance workers need to do more to engage with each other.

Google received a green light from the UK’s competition authority in February, as the watchdog accepted a revised commitment relating to the company’s Privacy Sandbox.

The Privacy Sandbox was made by Google to try balance the concerns of the ad industry. It’s an initiative to create technologies that both protect user privacy and give companies and developers tools for online advertising to replace third-party cookies.

The Competition and Markets Authority had been concerned that the proposals could undermine the ability of online publishers to generate revenue and would cause online advertising spending to become even more concentrated on Google. The watchdog said it would “keep a close eye on Google” as it develops its proposals.

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