> Not only that, I'm not an EU citizen and I'm not browsing websites based in EU but I'm still bombarded with cookie banners non-stop.
Again, that's the fault of the companies putting those up, they could make it opt-in to collect your data, they could just put a small notice on the footer with 2 simples links "Accept all/Reject all". But they chose, they decided to pester you with those banners as annoyingly as possible to make you have exactly the reaction you're having.
So the problem is that the legislator did not expect companies to be even worse assholes than they already were...?
Laws are not borne in a perfect state; very much like programs, sometimes you need a few versions to see how the system actually works in practice and fix a few bugs. The fact that v1.0 has such bugs is not a good reason to just give up, nor it's an indication that the programmer is bad at programming.
All companies? Every single company with a website even if without any trackers or ads?! All companies are evil and the single law that triggered their evil behaviour is good. Sure. Ever heard of Occam's razor?
All companies exist just to make a buck. And in the process they serve us with literally every single product and service we are using every second of every day. They play by the rules we put on them, making their life easier or harder, and in the process making our life easier or harder. Like this bad cookie law.
The law is pretty crystal clear. In many cases the issue is that websites are outsourcing their tracking to ad companies, which in turn apply those banners indiscriminately because that's in their interest.
That being said, all the dark-pattern banners actually break the law. The problem, if anything, is lack of enforcement of the law.
The law is pretty crystal clear. In many cases the issue is that websites are outsourcing their tracking to ad companies, which in turn apply those banners indiscriminately because that's in their interest.
You think a small company should roll their own tracking software? A mom and pop website that wants to track its conversion rate on its little eCommerce site?
It is the companies that suck, and Paul Graham is (quite literally) invested in the suckage, wherefore this dumb tweet. Which, if one wanted to create an ad campaign for that eternal Upton Sinclair quote, couldn't have been done much better.
"this is what you get for trying to handle us with kid gloves" is an understandable reaction/blowback from advertisers but I don't think it's something we should be giving any real weight or merit.
it's also generally an indictment of the modern neoliberal regulatory approach in general. asking people nicely to follow train safety regulations etc isn't going to get you results. even fines/penalties largely end up just as cost-of-doing-business (even in the EU). if you really want behavior to go away, make it illegal and give people at the top Sarbanes-Oxley-style legal culpability if it happens on their watch.
again, if you want to know the right way to set incentives so that people don't do a thing, you need only look at the way rich people want their money handled. you can bet that ripping off rich people is an ultra-mega-crime and doesn't just get a 1%-of-the-takings slap on the wrist. And lo and behold SOX does actually hold important people accountable as a result, not just some fall guy at the bottom.
Again, that's the fault of the companies putting those up, they could make it opt-in to collect your data, they could just put a small notice on the footer with 2 simples links "Accept all/Reject all". But they chose, they decided to pester you with those banners as annoyingly as possible to make you have exactly the reaction you're having.