According to eMarketer's just-released "The Cookie Report," web advertisers and publishers must convince internet users of the benefits of cookies, which vast numbers of users are reported to regularly delete; unless consumers are convinced not to do so, the online ad industry could face major problems, according to the report. Consumers should come to understand that "cookies are harmless, that they don't violate privacy and that they are not a type of spyware."

"A key promise of online advertising has always been its greater accountability, because it's more readily measured," says eMarketer senior analyst David Hallerman. "Since that measurement often relies on cookies, online marketers have a problem - a big problem."

In the report, Hallerman analyzes recent cookie-related reports and discusses the benefits and misperceptions of online cookies.

Recent Coverage: The Cookie Imbroglio

- Jupiter: Wealthy, Web-Experienced Users Delete Cookies Most
- Making Cookies Digestible for Users
- WebTrends: Despite Net Ad Boom, Confidence in Web Metrics Shaky
- Burst Cookie Survey: Consumers 'Don't Understand, Say Maybe Useful, But Some Delete Anyhow
- Study: Quadruple the Number of Visitors Rejecting Third-Party Cookies
- Safecount Launched to Save Cookies, Back Safe Measurement
- Study: 27 Percent Weekly Clearing Cookies
- InsightExpress: Rumors of Cookie Demise Still Greatly Exaggerated
- Cookie Death Small Potatoes, More Product of Spyware Measures
- Atlas: Cookie Deletion Figures Exaggerated Wildly by Self-Reported Data
- Macromedia CTO: Yeah, Flash Makes for Good Cookie Replacements
- Cookie Death Causes Search for Successor
- Cookie Death Partly Due to 'Anti-Spyware' Tools
- Tacoda Tech Replaces Deleted Cookies
- Many Delete Cookies, Invalidate Ad Measurements
- House Removes Threat to Cookies in Spyware Bill