3 ms·

Those were the most poorly conceived things in the history of tech legislation. They literally solved nothing.

by osrec 7y ago

yread 7y ago
Some websites don't use third party cookies or trackers so they don't have to show the popup. Like mine
- yardstick 7y ago
  That’s great. Same with mine. Sadly most sites still use them, and will still display the banners with no real option but to accept. Most are horrendous to deal with.
- eh78ssxv2f 7y ago
  There might be a small subset of websites that do not show popup. However, the question is whether the users adjust their browsing behavior based on those popups or not? If the users have just become acclimatized to clicking on them, then the situation has not really changed in any meaningful way.
  - maest 7y ago
    Dunno, I always opt out. It's not that hard to do, really.
    - osrec 7y ago
      Even when you opt out, do inspect your cookies. You'll be surprised as to how many are still there, solely for the purposes of tracking.
      - atoav 7y ago
        Which is illegal.
- vonmoltke 7y ago
  From what I can tell, the official EU website (https://europa.eu https://europa.eu) does not use third-party cookies or trackers. They have a pop-up.
  - Magnets 7y ago
    Only recently have they added the popup (last 6 months or so), they previously used google analytics with no consent and made themselves exempt from the law https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20180605/22253339978/eu-commission-violates-gdpr-claims-that-exempt-law-legal-reasons.shtml https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20180605/22253339978/eu-co...
iamben 7y ago
And regular users will now click accept to anything, without reading a thing, because they just want to buy/read/watch whatever they clicked on.
- danieldk 7y ago
  IANAL This is why the GDPR requires that the default or most obvious option should be the one that denies use of personal data. Consent should be given by a clear affirmative act [...] Silence, pre-ticked boxes or inactivity should not therefore constitute consent. [...] So, all those websites that have preticked boxes where you share data unless you untick them are in violation of the GDPR (unless the personal data is required for the site to function). So are websites that only present an 'accept/ok' option, since processing personal data is typically not necessary to retrieve the page: When assessing whether consent is freely given, utmost account shall be taken of whether, inter alia, the performance of a contract, including the provision of a service, is conditional on consent to the processing of personal data that is not necessary for the performance of that contract. Websites that are designed to let unattentive users consent to data by e.g. clicking the most visible button are probably in violation as well, since it is not a clear affirmative act.
DyslexicAtheist 7y ago
GDPR has an enforcement problem. Ideally we should have some mechanism that allows us to submit violations as easy as posting to HN. The next problem are courts in Ireland which have been stonewalling attempts to move things swiftly (and moving things at scale will simply be impossible). See also Max Schrems v. Facebook
atoav 7y ago
You only have to use a cookie popup if you use them to store user data beyond what you need for purely functional reasons. Don't track your users and boom: you need no cookie banner. EasyI

Those were the most poorly conceived things in the history of tech legislation. They literally solved nothing.

by osrec 7y ago

Those were the most poorly conceived things in the history of tech legislation. They literally solved nothing.

yread 7y ago

Some websites don't use third party cookies or trackers so they don't have to show the popup. Like mine

yardstick 7y ago
That’s great. Same with mine. Sadly most sites still use them, and will still display the banners with no real option but to accept. Most are horrendous to deal with.
eh78ssxv2f 7y ago
There might be a small subset of websites that do not show popup. However, the question is whether the users adjust their browsing behavior based on those popups or not? If the users have just become acclimatized to clicking on them, then the situation has not really changed in any meaningful way.
- maest 7y ago
  Dunno, I always opt out. It's not that hard to do, really.
  - osrec 7y ago
    Even when you opt out, do inspect your cookies. You'll be surprised as to how many are still there, solely for the purposes of tracking.
    - atoav 7y ago
      Which is illegal.
vonmoltke 7y ago
From what I can tell, the official EU website (https://europa.eu https://europa.eu) does not use third-party cookies or trackers. They have a pop-up.
- Magnets 7y ago
  Only recently have they added the popup (last 6 months or so), they previously used google analytics with no consent and made themselves exempt from the law https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20180605/22253339978/eu-commission-violates-gdpr-claims-that-exempt-law-legal-reasons.shtml https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20180605/22253339978/eu-co...

iamben 7y ago

And regular users will now click accept to anything, without reading a thing, because they just want to buy/read/watch whatever they clicked on.

danieldk 7y ago
IANAL This is why the GDPR requires that the default or most obvious option should be the one that denies use of personal data. Consent should be given by a clear affirmative act [...] Silence, pre-ticked boxes or inactivity should not therefore constitute consent. [...] So, all those websites that have preticked boxes where you share data unless you untick them are in violation of the GDPR (unless the personal data is required for the site to function). So are websites that only present an 'accept/ok' option, since processing personal data is typically not necessary to retrieve the page: When assessing whether consent is freely given, utmost account shall be taken of whether, inter alia, the performance of a contract, including the provision of a service, is conditional on consent to the processing of personal data that is not necessary for the performance of that contract. Websites that are designed to let unattentive users consent to data by e.g. clicking the most visible button are probably in violation as well, since it is not a clear affirmative act.

DyslexicAtheist 7y ago

GDPR has an enforcement problem. Ideally we should have some mechanism that allows us to submit violations as easy as posting to HN. The next problem are courts in Ireland which have been stonewalling attempts to move things swiftly (and moving things at scale will simply be impossible). See also Max Schrems v. Facebook

atoav 7y ago

You only have to use a cookie popup if you use them to store user data beyond what you need for purely functional reasons. Don't track your users and boom: you need no cookie banner. EasyI