This is partly about the insane European cookie directive [0] (cf. [1]). A problem with forced apologies is, when the crimes you're apologizing for are actually

This is partly about the insane European cookie directive [0] (cf. [1]). A problem with forced apologies is, when the crimes you're apologizing for are actually controversial political issues, it takes on the character of political speech. "I'm sorry I stole from that guy" is an apology. "I'm sorry I hacked your computer without your consent, in violation of privacy law" -- meaning you set a browser cookie -- that's something else. [0] "According to the watchdog, Google didn't adequately inform users about its data collection processes, nor did it obtain consent or tell users how long cookies would be installed on their machine." http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/08/google-privacy-cnil-fine/ http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/08/google-privacy-cnil-fine/ [1] https://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/all&q=eu+cookie&sortby=points+desc&start=0 https://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/all&q=eu+cookie&sort...