• by Shirley Marschall , Featured Contributor, March 14, 2025

For years, third-party cookies were the villain of digital advertising. They fueled cross-site tracking, enabled hyper-personalization, and ultimately led to GDPR, CCPA, and an industrywide privacy reckoning.

The solution? First-party data. It was supposed to be the privacy-friendly alternative, a direct exchange between consumers and brands that would bring transparency and trust back into digital advertising.

But when cookies started disappearing, the industry didn’t just lean into first-party data. It leaned into every kind of data it could find. Advertisers turned to third-party data brokers, clean rooms, second-party data partnerships, and advanced identity solutions to compensate for the loss.

Now, as regulators finally crack down on third-party data brokers with strict new laws, a familiar cycle is playing out. Just like cookies once fueled an era of unchecked data collection, the restrictions on third-party data are now supercharging the power of first-party data.

Instead of fixing privacy, we just shifted power.

How First-Party Data Became a Tradeable Asset

Originally, the data-for-value equation made sense: Retailers used data to personalize discounts.

Streaming platforms used it to recommend content (and later serve ads).

Ecommerce sites used it to improve product recommendations.

But then came the turning point: cCmpanies realized they could monetize this data beyond their own ecosystem. Instead of using it to improve user experiences, they sold it, shared it, and built ad empires on top of it.

Now, first-party data isn’t just a necessity, it’s an industry currency.

The Trust Breakdown: Legal Loophole or Ethical Failure?

Legally, it’s all buried in the fine print. But from a consumer’s perspective, it’s a bait-and-switch.

• I signed up for a loyalty program for discounts, not to have my purchase history fuel an ad network.

• I subscribed to a streaming service for content, not to have my viewing habits sold to advertisers.

So, Is First-Party Data Even “First-Party” Anymore?

If a company builds an entire ad network based on its users’ behavior, is that still within the value exchange consumers agreed to?

We used to think of first-party data as owned data. Now, it’s clear that first-party data is shared, rented, and leveraged across ecosystems in ways most consumers never expected.

The shift to first-party data hasn’t democratized advertising. It’s just concentrated power in fewer hands.

The new gatekeepers:

• Big tech and retail giants now dictate who gets access to consumer insights -- and at what price.

• Advertisers have lost autonomy, forced to “rent” access to first-party data instead of owning customer relationships.

• Consumers were told they were regaining control, but in reality, their data is now more valuable than ever.

At this point, the question isn’t just about privacy. It’s about who controls the future of digital advertising.

Privacy - And the Industry’s Next Reckoning

We were promised a more privacy-friendly internet.

Instead, we got the same game with different winners.

The industry justified first-party data as a solution, but in reality, it was just the next loophole. Now, as regulators close the door on third-party data, will first-party data be next?

Because if history tells us anything, it’s this: when data becomes too powerful, regulation follows. And this time, the consequences could be even bigger. Buckle up, retail media networks!