5 ms·

I've been using Llama models to identify cookie notices on websites, for the purpose of adding filter rules to block them in EasyList Cookie. Otherwise, this is

I've been using Llama models to identify cookie notices on websites, for the purpose of adding filter rules to block them in EasyList Cookie. Otherwise, this is normally done by, essentially, manual volunteer reporting. Most cookie notices turn out to be pretty similar, HTML/CSS-wise, and then you can grab their `innerText` and filter out false positives with a small LLM. I've found the 3B models have decent performance on this task, given enough prompt engineering. They do fall apart slightly around edge cases like less common languages or combined cookie notice + age restriction banners. 7B has a negligible false-positive rate without much extra cost. Either way these things are really fast and it's amazing to see reports streaming in during a crawl with no human effort required. Code is at https://github.com/brave/cookiemonster https://github.com/brave/cookiemonster. You can see the prompt at https://github.com/brave/cookiemonster/blob/main/src/text-classification.mjs#L12 https://github.com/brave/cookiemonster/blob/main/src/text-cl....

binarysneaker 2y ago
Maybe it could also send automated petitions to the EU to undo cookie consent legislation, and reverse some of the enshitification.
- antonok 2y ago
  Ha, I'm not sure the EU is prepared to handle the deluge of petitions that would ensue. On a more serious note, this must be the first time we can quantitatively measure the impact of cookie consent legislation across the web, so maybe there's something to be explored there.
  - pk-protect-ai 2y ago
    why don't you spam the companies who want your data instead? The sites can simply stop gathering your data, then they will not require to ask for consent ...
    - frail_figure 2y ago
      It’s the same comments on HN as always. They think EU setting up rules is somehow worse than companies breaking them. We see how the US is turning out without pesky EU restrictions :)
      - GardenLetter27 2y ago
        The US has 3x higher salaries, larger houses and a much higher quality of life? I work as a senior engineer in Europe and make barely $4k net per month... and that's considered a "good" salary!
        Lutger 2y ago
        It has higher salaries for privileged people like senior engineers. Try making ends meet in a lower class job. And you have (almost) free and universal healthcare in Europa, good food available everywhere, drinking water that doesn't poison you, walkable cities, good public transport, somewhat decent police and a functioning legal system. The list goes on. Does this not impact your quality of life? Do you not care about these things? How can you have a higher quality of life as a society with higher murders, much lower life-expectancy, so many people in jail, in debt, etc.
        macinjosh 2y ago
        Touch grass. The US is a big place and is nothing like you seem to think it is. Europe on the other hand can't even manage to defend itself and relies on the US for their sheer existence.
        pona-a 2y ago
        Can you enlighten me of a state where none of parent's points apply? I'd be glad to be educated.
        Deutdeutsch 2y ago
        [dead]
- K0balt 2y ago
  I think there is real potential here, for smart browsing. Have the llm get the page, replace all the ads with kittens, find non-paywall versions if possible and needed, spoof fingerprint data, detect and highlight AI generated drivel, etc. The site would have no way of knowing that it wasn’t touching eyeballs. We might be able to rake back a bit of the web this way.
  - antonok 2y ago
    You probably wouldn't want to run this in real-time on every site as it'll significantly increase the load on your browser, but as long as it's possible to generate adblock filter rules, the fixes can scale to a pretty large audience.
    - K0balt 2y ago
      I was thinking running it in my home lab server as a proxy, but yeah, scaling it to the browser would require some pretty strong hardware. Still, maybe in a couple of years it could be mainstream.
    - Tepix 2y ago
      Depends on your machine and on the LLM. Could be doable.
- sebastiennight 2y ago
  To me this take is like smokers complaining that the evil government is forcing the good tobacco companies to degrade the experience by adding pictures of cancer patients on cigarette packs.
  - kortilla 2y ago
    Those don’t really work: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2782665 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle...
    - shiftingleft 2y ago
      Do they help deter people from becoming smokers in the first place?
      - kortilla 2y ago
        Not sure if much serious research has been put into it. I would be suspicious of it deterring them because a lot of initial smoking happens in social situations where friends pass out individual cigarettes. By the time someone buys their own pack they are probably hooked. I suspect the obscene taxes blocking out young folks is one of the most effective strategies
bazmattaz 2y ago
This is so cool thanks for sharing. I can imagine it’s not technically possible (yet?) but it would be cool if this could simply be run as a browser extension rather than running a docker container
- antonok 2y ago
  I did actually make a rough proof-of-concept of this! One of my long-term visions is to have it running natively in-browser, and able to automatically fix site issues caused by adblocking whenever they happen. The PoC is a bit outdated but it's here: https://github.com/brave/cookiemonster/tree/webext https://github.com/brave/cookiemonster/tree/webext
- throwup238 2y ago
  It should be possible using native messaging [1] which can call out to an external binary. The 1password extensions use that to communicate with the password manager binary. [1] https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Add-ons/WebExtensions/Native_messaging https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Add-ons/Web...
- MarioMan 2y ago
  There are a couple of WebGPU LLM platforms available that form the building blocks to accomplish this right from the browser, especially since the models are so small. https://github.com/mlc-ai/web-llm https://github.com/mlc-ai/web-llm https://huggingface.co/docs/transformers.js/en/index https://huggingface.co/docs/transformers.js/en/index You do have to worry about WebGPU compatibility in browsers though. https://caniuse.com/webgpu https://caniuse.com/webgpu
GardenLetter27 2y ago
It's funny that this is even necessary though - that great EU innovation at work.
- kalaksi 2y ago
  Tracking, tracking cookies, banners etc. are a choice done by the website. There are browser addons for making it simpler, though. The transparency requirements and consent for collecting all kinds of PII (this is the regulation) actually is a great innovation.
  - docmars 2y ago
    I think I'd rather see cookie notices handled by a browser API with a common UI, where the default is always "No." Provide that common UI in a popover accessed in the address bar, or a side pane in the browser itself. If a user logs in or does something requiring cookies that would otherwise prevent normal functionality, prompt them with a Permissions box if they haven't already accepted it in the usual (optional) UI.
    - kalaksi 2y ago
      Cookies for normal functionality don't require consent anyway. But yes, I think just about everybody would like the UX you described. But the entities that track you don't want to make it that easy. You probably know of the do-not-track header too.
    - YetAnotherNick 2y ago
      There isn't any way EU didn't knew this was possible and is a better choice. There already was DNT header that they can regulate. It also knew the harm to ad industry.
      - Fraaaank 2y ago
        There isn't any rule that requires websites to use a cookie banner. Your required to obtain explicit consent before reading/setting any cookies that aren't strictly necessary. The web came up with the cookie banner. Google could've implemented a consent API in Chrome, but they didn't. Guess why.
rpastuszak 2y ago
Tangentially related, I worked on something similar, using LLMs to find and skip sponsored content in YT videos: https://butter.sonnet.io/ https://butter.sonnet.io/

binarysneaker 2y ago

Maybe it could also send automated petitions to the EU to undo cookie consent legislation, and reverse some of the enshitification.

antonok 2y ago
Ha, I'm not sure the EU is prepared to handle the deluge of petitions that would ensue. On a more serious note, this must be the first time we can quantitatively measure the impact of cookie consent legislation across the web, so maybe there's something to be explored there.
- pk-protect-ai 2y ago
  why don't you spam the companies who want your data instead? The sites can simply stop gathering your data, then they will not require to ask for consent ...
  - frail_figure 2y ago
    It’s the same comments on HN as always. They think EU setting up rules is somehow worse than companies breaking them. We see how the US is turning out without pesky EU restrictions :)
    - GardenLetter27 2y ago
      The US has 3x higher salaries, larger houses and a much higher quality of life? I work as a senior engineer in Europe and make barely $4k net per month... and that's considered a "good" salary!
      - Lutger 2y ago
        It has higher salaries for privileged people like senior engineers. Try making ends meet in a lower class job. And you have (almost) free and universal healthcare in Europa, good food available everywhere, drinking water that doesn't poison you, walkable cities, good public transport, somewhat decent police and a functioning legal system. The list goes on. Does this not impact your quality of life? Do you not care about these things? How can you have a higher quality of life as a society with higher murders, much lower life-expectancy, so many people in jail, in debt, etc.
        macinjosh 2y ago
        Touch grass. The US is a big place and is nothing like you seem to think it is. Europe on the other hand can't even manage to defend itself and relies on the US for their sheer existence.
        pona-a 2y ago
        Can you enlighten me of a state where none of parent's points apply? I'd be glad to be educated.
        Deutdeutsch 2y ago
        [dead]
K0balt 2y ago
I think there is real potential here, for smart browsing. Have the llm get the page, replace all the ads with kittens, find non-paywall versions if possible and needed, spoof fingerprint data, detect and highlight AI generated drivel, etc. The site would have no way of knowing that it wasn’t touching eyeballs. We might be able to rake back a bit of the web this way.
- antonok 2y ago
  You probably wouldn't want to run this in real-time on every site as it'll significantly increase the load on your browser, but as long as it's possible to generate adblock filter rules, the fixes can scale to a pretty large audience.
  - K0balt 2y ago
    I was thinking running it in my home lab server as a proxy, but yeah, scaling it to the browser would require some pretty strong hardware. Still, maybe in a couple of years it could be mainstream.
  - Tepix 2y ago
    Depends on your machine and on the LLM. Could be doable.
sebastiennight 2y ago
To me this take is like smokers complaining that the evil government is forcing the good tobacco companies to degrade the experience by adding pictures of cancer patients on cigarette packs.
- kortilla 2y ago
  Those don’t really work: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2782665 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle...
  - shiftingleft 2y ago
    Do they help deter people from becoming smokers in the first place?
    - kortilla 2y ago
      Not sure if much serious research has been put into it. I would be suspicious of it deterring them because a lot of initial smoking happens in social situations where friends pass out individual cigarettes. By the time someone buys their own pack they are probably hooked. I suspect the obscene taxes blocking out young folks is one of the most effective strategies

bazmattaz 2y ago

This is so cool thanks for sharing. I can imagine it’s not technically possible (yet?) but it would be cool if this could simply be run as a browser extension rather than running a docker container

antonok 2y ago
I did actually make a rough proof-of-concept of this! One of my long-term visions is to have it running natively in-browser, and able to automatically fix site issues caused by adblocking whenever they happen. The PoC is a bit outdated but it's here: https://github.com/brave/cookiemonster/tree/webext https://github.com/brave/cookiemonster/tree/webext
throwup238 2y ago
It should be possible using native messaging [1] which can call out to an external binary. The 1password extensions use that to communicate with the password manager binary. [1] https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Add-ons/WebExtensions/Native_messaging https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Add-ons/Web...
MarioMan 2y ago
There are a couple of WebGPU LLM platforms available that form the building blocks to accomplish this right from the browser, especially since the models are so small. https://github.com/mlc-ai/web-llm https://github.com/mlc-ai/web-llm https://huggingface.co/docs/transformers.js/en/index https://huggingface.co/docs/transformers.js/en/index You do have to worry about WebGPU compatibility in browsers though. https://caniuse.com/webgpu https://caniuse.com/webgpu

GardenLetter27 2y ago

It's funny that this is even necessary though - that great EU innovation at work.

kalaksi 2y ago
Tracking, tracking cookies, banners etc. are a choice done by the website. There are browser addons for making it simpler, though. The transparency requirements and consent for collecting all kinds of PII (this is the regulation) actually is a great innovation.
- docmars 2y ago
  I think I'd rather see cookie notices handled by a browser API with a common UI, where the default is always "No." Provide that common UI in a popover accessed in the address bar, or a side pane in the browser itself. If a user logs in or does something requiring cookies that would otherwise prevent normal functionality, prompt them with a Permissions box if they haven't already accepted it in the usual (optional) UI.
  - kalaksi 2y ago
    Cookies for normal functionality don't require consent anyway. But yes, I think just about everybody would like the UX you described. But the entities that track you don't want to make it that easy. You probably know of the do-not-track header too.
  - YetAnotherNick 2y ago
    There isn't any way EU didn't knew this was possible and is a better choice. There already was DNT header that they can regulate. It also knew the harm to ad industry.
    - Fraaaank 2y ago
      There isn't any rule that requires websites to use a cookie banner. Your required to obtain explicit consent before reading/setting any cookies that aren't strictly necessary. The web came up with the cookie banner. Google could've implemented a consent API in Chrome, but they didn't. Guess why.

rpastuszak 2y ago

Tangentially related, I worked on something similar, using LLMs to find and skip sponsored content in YT videos: https://butter.sonnet.io/ https://butter.sonnet.io/