5 ms·

What's the point of that legislation? Set your browser to block third-party cookies by default, problem solved.

idle_zealot 4y ago
That's a good nuclear option, but often we don't actually want to block all cookies. What we want is for sites to use cookies in ways that benefit us, but not use cookies to track us. Blocking them all or selectively allowing specifically chosen cookies puts to onus on the visitor to guess which cookies do what or lose functionality. Making the website owner legally responsible for declaring which cookies are for tracking and which provide functionality is a boon.
- dylan604 4y ago
  The person you replied to did not say block all cookies. They specifically said block all 3rd party cookies. If a site wants to set a 1st party cookie, but through code on their end share that cookie data with 3rd party sites, there's nothing we can do about that. But by gawd we can absolutely block the ones that are too lazy to do it like that and just link someone else's codes. No banners necessary. Just block 3rd parties.
  - unscaled 4y ago
    Third party cookies aren't the only thing that's tracking you. You can be tracked by first party cookies, local storage, your IP address, browser fingerprinting and other techniques. GDPR requires websites to get your explicit consent for any kind of tracking. A lot of users are already blocking third party cookies and that's the default in Safari and Chrome nowadays - but ad companies have moved on.
    - calvinmorrison 4y ago
      I don't get it. A public site is like a public store. Do you have the expectation of privacy in a store? No not really. And be sure stores do track you.
      - iudqnolq 4y ago
        Some of us think a browser acts as a User Agent. It's supposed to be on our side, not the side of the website. (Under your analogy maybe the store is putting a beacon in my pocket.)
        calvinmorrison 4y ago
        In this case the agent would be well a literal agent. Nobody is requiring your agent to walk around and advertise who you are, to accept every cookie or display an advert on its shirt while walking around the store for you
      - akvadrako 4y ago
        GDPR also applies to physical stores, not just the internet.
      - CaptainZapp 4y ago
        I have the expectation that when I enter a store that the store keeper doesn't sic his minions to sniff after me while I browse other stores and for good measure maybe peeks into my bedroom. Physical stores don't do that and therefore your analogy breaks down.
        rrobukef 4y ago
        They do put electronic advertising screens in front that collect "anonymous" mac addresses. They also put trackers inside the shopping carts to follow you inside the store. The client-card you use during checkout records your name, address and spending habits. They don't need to sic a minion to sniff after you. The implication of buying condoms and then visiting the hotel only requires to correlate three tables.
        Symbiote 4y ago
        Those advertising screens aren't necessarily compliant with the GDPR. https://techgdpr.com/blog/wifi-tracking-retail-analytics-gdpr/ https://techgdpr.com/blog/wifi-tracking-retail-analytics-gdp... has some background. https://www.spring-board.info/differences-between-geo-wifi-footfall-track-explained/ https://www.spring-board.info/differences-between-geo-wifi-f... is from a British company which claims to do compliant tracking in shopping centres etc.
IanCal 4y ago
Cookies aren't the only thing involved here. The banners are asking if they can track you and that includes lots of things, your IP is the most obvious.
adrr 4y ago
Third party cookies are already blocked in safari and Firefox. Cookie prompt is for first party cookie like analytics, ab testing, and rum cookies.
- pornel 4y ago
  Watch out what you're agreeing to. Sites can share your email and telephone number with data brokers, if you've provided this info and clicked "agree". You're agreeing to all — otherwise illegal — tracking they can manage to do, not just some cookies.
- cpeterso 4y ago
  Unlike Safari, Firefox doesn’t block all third party cookies by default (because that breaks some websites’ legitimate use cases). Firefox does block known tracking cookies (with its “Enhanced Tracking Protection” Block list) and the remaining cookies are sandboxed to each website (“Total Cookie Protection”), so the Google tracking cookies on foo.com don’t know about the Google tracking cookies on bar.com.
contravariant 4y ago
If I'm honest I never could quite understand the whole privacy kerfuffle about cookies, they ask the user to remember some token and if they so choose send that token back when they visit again. If cookies are a breach of privacy then so are ticket numbers. Of course the whole issue is that the most popular user agents (i.e. web browsers) did very little to empower users to act responsibly with their cookies. I mean I consider the Cookie Autodelete extension just basic hygiene at this point, just like having a good ad blocker and some kind of firewall/virus scanner.

That's a good nuclear option, but often we don't actually want to block all cookies. What we want is for sites to use cookies in ways that benefit us, but not use cookies to track us. Blocking them all or selectively allowing specifically chosen cookies puts to onus on the visitor to guess which cookies do what or lose functionality. Making the website owner legally responsible for declaring which cookies are for tracking and which provide functionality is a boon.

dylan604 4y ago
The person you replied to did not say block all cookies. They specifically said block all 3rd party cookies. If a site wants to set a 1st party cookie, but through code on their end share that cookie data with 3rd party sites, there's nothing we can do about that. But by gawd we can absolutely block the ones that are too lazy to do it like that and just link someone else's codes. No banners necessary. Just block 3rd parties.
- unscaled 4y ago
  Third party cookies aren't the only thing that's tracking you. You can be tracked by first party cookies, local storage, your IP address, browser fingerprinting and other techniques. GDPR requires websites to get your explicit consent for any kind of tracking. A lot of users are already blocking third party cookies and that's the default in Safari and Chrome nowadays - but ad companies have moved on.
  - calvinmorrison 4y ago
    I don't get it. A public site is like a public store. Do you have the expectation of privacy in a store? No not really. And be sure stores do track you.
    - iudqnolq 4y ago
      Some of us think a browser acts as a User Agent. It's supposed to be on our side, not the side of the website. (Under your analogy maybe the store is putting a beacon in my pocket.)
      - calvinmorrison 4y ago
        In this case the agent would be well a literal agent. Nobody is requiring your agent to walk around and advertise who you are, to accept every cookie or display an advert on its shirt while walking around the store for you
    - akvadrako 4y ago
      GDPR also applies to physical stores, not just the internet.
    - CaptainZapp 4y ago
      I have the expectation that when I enter a store that the store keeper doesn't sic his minions to sniff after me while I browse other stores and for good measure maybe peeks into my bedroom. Physical stores don't do that and therefore your analogy breaks down.
      - rrobukef 4y ago
        They do put electronic advertising screens in front that collect "anonymous" mac addresses. They also put trackers inside the shopping carts to follow you inside the store. The client-card you use during checkout records your name, address and spending habits. They don't need to sic a minion to sniff after you. The implication of buying condoms and then visiting the hotel only requires to correlate three tables.
        Symbiote 4y ago
        Those advertising screens aren't necessarily compliant with the GDPR. https://techgdpr.com/blog/wifi-tracking-retail-analytics-gdpr/ https://techgdpr.com/blog/wifi-tracking-retail-analytics-gdp... has some background. https://www.spring-board.info/differences-between-geo-wifi-footfall-track-explained/ https://www.spring-board.info/differences-between-geo-wifi-f... is from a British company which claims to do compliant tracking in shopping centres etc.

IanCal 4y ago

Cookies aren't the only thing involved here. The banners are asking if they can track you and that includes lots of things, your IP is the most obvious.

adrr 4y ago

Third party cookies are already blocked in safari and Firefox. Cookie prompt is for first party cookie like analytics, ab testing, and rum cookies.

pornel 4y ago
Watch out what you're agreeing to. Sites can share your email and telephone number with data brokers, if you've provided this info and clicked "agree". You're agreeing to all — otherwise illegal — tracking they can manage to do, not just some cookies.
cpeterso 4y ago
Unlike Safari, Firefox doesn’t block all third party cookies by default (because that breaks some websites’ legitimate use cases). Firefox does block known tracking cookies (with its “Enhanced Tracking Protection” Block list) and the remaining cookies are sandboxed to each website (“Total Cookie Protection”), so the Google tracking cookies on foo.com don’t know about the Google tracking cookies on bar.com.

contravariant 4y ago

If I'm honest I never could quite understand the whole privacy kerfuffle about cookies, they ask the user to remember some token and if they so choose send that token back when they visit again. If cookies are a breach of privacy then so are ticket numbers. Of course the whole issue is that the most popular user agents (i.e. web browsers) did very little to empower users to act responsibly with their cookies. I mean I consider the Cookie Autodelete extension just basic hygiene at this point, just like having a good ad blocker and some kind of firewall/virus scanner.