News European Union set to revise cookie law, admits cookie banners are annoying

[tom_mai78101]

Something to look forward to: The requirement for websites to gain visitors' consent to use cookies has given users more control over their data when surfing. However, it's led to endless annoying "cookie permission" banners seen on most websites. Recognizing this issue, EU authorities are considering revising these requirements, although the outcome may hinge on the compliance of major platforms.

European Union Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders recently told German newspaper 'Welt am Sonntag' that the European Commission is aware of how annoying cookie consent banners have become and is discussing a remedy. He said that although websites can no longer activate cookies without informing users about them, the stipulation shouldn't turn web browsing into a tiring affair.

Most website visitors in recent years have encountered banners or pop-ups requesting permission for various types of cookies, including those essential for basic site functionality, advertising cookies, and others. Fortunately, many sites offer a straightforward choice between accepting all cookies or blocking all non-essential ones. However, numerous sites require multiple clicks to refuse cookies, often tempting visitors to opt for the "allow all" button for convenience.

These banners are displayed to adhere to the GDPR privacy regulations implemented by the EU in 2018. Reynders mentioned that the commission aims to alleviate "cookie fatigue" while ensuring users comprehend online advertising mechanics and make informed decisions about their data. One proposed solution is to require websites to remember visitors' preferences, thereby presenting the consent form only once per year.

European Union set to revise cookie law, admits cookie banners are annoying

European Union Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders recently told German newspaper 'Welt am Sonntag' that the European Commission is aware of how annoying cookie consent banners have become...

www.techspot.com

Hoping the cookie banners go away in the future. They are pretty annoying if browsing across multiple news sites.

 

[jonas]

Why can't browsers have a global setting?

 

[tom_mai78101]

Why can't browsers have a global setting?

This is only dictated by sites per law, not by web browsers themselves.

 

[jonas]

This is only dictated by sites per law, not by web browsers themselves.

but why can't we have a default setting in our browser which gets submitted in a standardised format to the website, then only if the website doesn't accept the default setting it makes a popup?

 

[tom_mai78101]

That's how it was written. I don't know what to say. I doubt that anyone hosting their own sites would want that, nor would the web browsers would want to maintain such a feature.

 

[jonas]

That's how it was written. I don't know what to say. I doubt that anyone hosting their own sites would want that, nor would the web browsers would want to maintain such a feature.

Well, the people hosting their own sites obviously want to annoy users until they either accept storing everything, or just don't visit the site anymore.

If the alternative though is having to store the user's preference for at least a year (which by itself isn't easy - do they want to have another cookie for the preferences?), maybe it'll be the lesser evil.

But if I was a browser vendor, I'd definitely like to have the feature that allows users not to have to click through a forest of popups on each individual site.

 

[tom_mai78101]

Oh well, let EU revise them.