In its scramble to advance ad targeting and measurement methods that work without third-party cookies, Google has been accused of throwing lots of barely-cooked concepts at the wall to see what sticks. But one idea intended to protect people's privacy — Google's Privacy Budget — is winding its way into several proposals. Read more below.

• Google engineers are pushing its Privacy Budget concept as a privacy panacea in web standards tech specs, but developers say it could create more privacy abuses — and chaos online.
• Agencies like Exverus Media, Tatari and Lockard & Wechsler Direct have been securing TV networks’ scatter inventory months before the fourth quarter begins.
• Two agency CEOs share their differing paths to the same destination — a significant number of employees who returned to work without being mandated to do so. More in this week’s Digiday+ Media Buying Briefing.
• Here’s a breakdown of the most prominent esports events for every major esport — and some of the smaller ones.
• After a successful year of attracting paying customers, publishers turn to a number of techniques to avoid subscription fatigue.
• Many organizations are pushing video conference calls in lieu of in-person visits in an effort to slash costs, cut carbon emissions and contain COVID-19 transmission.