The other issue is sites break the law by ignoring the consent request anyway - many/most sites don't actually link the prompt to withholding delivery of cookie

The other issue is sites break the law by ignoring the consent request anyway - many/most sites don't actually link the prompt to withholding delivery of cookies. This includes big name, big brand sites you've heard of as household names. The problem in GDPR right now is enforcement - there's not enough technical knowledge or visibility to enforce any of this through regulators, and there's no free market incentive to do it privately either (e.g. punitive damages).