The European Commission aims to reform the EU’s cookie consent rules that have cluttered websites with intrusive banners asking for permission to track user data[1]. The initiative seeks to streamline data protection while maintaining privacy safeguards through centralized consent mechanisms[1:1].
Cookie consent banners emerged from the ePrivacy Directive (Cookie Law) and GDPR requirements, which mandate websites obtain explicit user permission before collecting non-essential data through cookies[2]. Current rules have led to widespread implementation of pop-up notices that interrupt user experience and often employ confusing interfaces.
The proposed changes reflect growing recognition that the existing approach has “messed up the internet” while failing to provide meaningful privacy protection[1:2]. Rather than requiring individual consent on every website, the Commission is exploring solutions like centralized consent management to reduce banner fatigue while preserving user privacy rights.
The law didn’t mess up the internet, asshole business owners with their bullshit malicious compliance (and spineless devs enabling them) messed up the internet.
Yep, there even was a standard that would have been sufficient, Do Not Track. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_Not_Track
Even worse, many data agencies will use the Do Not Track flag as an additional datapoint to add to your fingerprint.
This shit should be mandated, with strict “the company has been burned to the ground and the ashes have been salted” levels of penalties for violating it.
This! A thousand times THIS!
This is also evidence they never wanted to implement user protection.
For the life of me I do not understand how this was not all it took.
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It wouldn’t be hard to add a clause mandating that websites provide an easy-to-access “reject all” button that actually rejects all cookies.
Unless I’m very mistaken rejecting all cookies must not take more clicks than accepting them. Too bad nobody enforces that…
The law should have a bounty for reporting violations and it will basically enforce itself.
Too many websites like almost all US local news outlets and businesses like Home Depot just block all EU and Swiss IP addresses, which really sucks for a multitude of reasons.