When a cookie consent banner pops up on a website I’ve just opened, I do everything in my power to make it go away as fast as possible. Maybe one day I’ll accept, one day I’ll reject—depends on how fast my thumb is moving that day and where the closest “X” is. It’s safe to say I’m not thinking about privacy and what I’m actually consenting to for each individual web page.
It turns out that lots of people agree, and the law that made cookie consent banners virtually mandatory across the web could be on its way out.
A 2009 European law called the e-Privacy Directive required websites to get consent before loading cookies. The European Commission is now considering rolling back the law, Politico reports. The move is part of a larger initiative to remove red tape in technology regulation. A committee met to discuss alternatives last week, which could include allowing users to set their cookie preferences once, perhaps in the browser settings, rather than each time they visit a website.
Other European countries seem on board with nixing the cookie obsession, Politico says. Denmark has suggested dropping cookie banners for cookies that are required for the website to function, or “for technically necessary functions,” noting that most cookies are “harmless” when used for marketing, advertising, or sharing data with third parties.
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Europe would still uphold its wider data privacy act, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and the new cookie rules could become part of it. There is no apparent timeline or deadline for changing the cookie law at this time, and it’s most likely to face opposition from privacy advocates.
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As a news and features writer at PCMag, I cover the biggest tech trends that shape the way we live and work. I specialize in on-the-ground reporting, uncovering stories from the people who are at the center of change—whether that’s the CEO of a high-valued startup or an everyday person taking on Big Tech. I also cover daily tech news and breaking stories, contextualizing them so you get the full picture.
I came to journalism from a previous career working in Big Tech on the West Coast. That experience gave me an up-close view of how software works and how business strategies shift over time. Now that I have my master’s in journalism from Northwestern University, I couple my insider knowledge and reporting chops to help answer the big question: Where is this all going?
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