Sick of cookie banners and popups? They’re all changing, again

https://silktide.com/blog/2019/sick-of-cookie-banners-and-popups

13 23 7 years ago

s188• 7 years ago

This is a good thing. And there's probably still some way to go with this. A step-by-step approach makes sense to me. Sure it's a nuisance for developers (although I'm certainly not complaining about the extra work) but it's better for users to see regular progress regarding their privacy. Surveillance capitalism has gone a bit crazy over the last decade and lawmakers are steadily reeling it back in. I fully support the ICO's recommendations

DocTomoe• 7 years ago

: but it's better for users to see regular progress regarding their privacy.

First and foremost, it will desensitize people about these messages, until they habitually click on everything presented to them.

... including giving away the title to their soul.

Nextgrid3• 7 years ago

This is nothing new. These guidelines reflect the GDPR’s intent and everyone had 2 years to prepare for it before it went into effect.

aiCeivi9• 7 years ago

They are in effect and everyone breaks them. I guess we need to wait for first "cookie" fine for any panic/changes to happen.

holstvoogd• 7 years ago

yep, I work at what is a processor in terms of the GPDR and made a action plan of how we should comply and help our customers to comply. Guess how much of that got done? Absolutely nothing. But of luckely we have quarterly meetings to how to improve out compliance etc, of which we have so far had none.

The trouble is that the industry seems to focus more on what they can get away with then what they need to change. Even the GPDR consultants/privacy lawyers focus not on what is required by law, but on how to circumvent as much of it as possible.

All 'BeCAUse iT Is sUcH a drACOnian LaW' - Well guess why that is the case. We keep perverting it in the name of marketing. It's just a race to the bottom in the end.

oliveremberton2• 7 years ago

Author here. What’s new is the ICO has changed their guidance: they had explicitly stated analytics was acceptable in the past. The law itself hasn’t changed, but what most people thought was compliant is now unambiguously not.

pjc50• 7 years ago

Their infographic is hilarious: https://silktide.com/images/uploads/images/Cookie-Law-infogr...

But I can't see this changing in the medium term without some high-profile fines; someone needs to fine a major media company or similar simply for having Google analytics enabled. Then everyone will shout about their world collapsing, and try to find new forms of allowed dark pattern.

Really the only way to get out ahead of this mess would be to "lean in" and make a browser-level technological mechanism for providing consent. Maybe standardise the "session cookie" somehow, so all the required functionality can hang off that.

datenhorst• 7 years ago

But I can't see this changing in the medium term without some high-profile fines

I'm counting on the German cease-and-desist industry to kick-start that - now that I think about it, I'm actually surprised it has happened yet.

y4mi2• 7 years ago

It hasn't happened because it only works against private people which can't afford good legal representation.

Their entire 'industry' is just shitting on people in the lower middle classes and below for a few hundreds bucks per case.

With this they'd actually have to represent in court for every case. It's easier for them to just keep leeching of people that can't fight back

auslander• 7 years ago

make a browser-level technological mechanism for providing consent

ad-blockers and Private windows?

tinus_hn3• 7 years ago

There is a setting for Google Analytics which makes it pinky promise to not store too much information and with that setting you don’t need banners.

Nextgrid3• 7 years ago

Would you trust that promise coming from a company whose bottom line relies on violating such promises?

tinus_hn3• 7 years ago

It’s not about you trusting them, it’s about satisfying the requirements of the law.

kd5bjo• 7 years ago

It’ll likely take heavy fines before people will care to go through the whole process of “cookie-lawing” and “GDPR-ing” their websites again.

This line is a bit disingenuous, as all of these guidelines are simply what “GDPR-ing” was supposed to be in the first place. Any website owner that contracted for someone to make their website GDPR-compliant that runs afoul of these rules should insist on getting their money back.

RenRav• 7 years ago

This will be annoying if every single website spams permission requests on first visit.

I hope that if I say 'No' on one website to doubleclick, adwords, analytics, etc, those aren't going to just reappear for every other website.

If it's purely something each website is implementing, that won't happen, so I'm looking forward to some standard that all browsers will use.

The UK could have just developed their own adblocker or educated everyone about adblocking, cookie blacklisting, browser settings, anything would be fine.

Do you think the average visitor will take time to go through each message and only enable 1st party services required for the website to function? Just like the annoying cookie banner, people will quickly become blind to that section of the screen and spam click on whatever appears just so they can get rid of it and read the page.

pergadad• 7 years ago

The article omits the really obvious solution: don't use all these cookies on your site. Many of us use google analytics for convenience but in reality there's really no reason for it on most sites. Basic login or technical protection measures are all perfectly fine - so storing an IP to make sure you're not getting ddosed is not an issue.

This law is not aimed at the average homebrew website or restaurant menu page - it's for the big abusers, like Google.

oliveremberton2• 7 years ago

"It's for the big abusers, like Google".

If the law actually said that, it would be great.

You never want laws to be ambiguously applied and to presume exemption because "it wouldn't happen to me". People will abuse laws: there will be spam scams aplenty selling snake-oil solutions, and ambulance chasers threatening to sue companies because they can. Excess legislation comes at a cost.

I am in favour of better privacy but I fail to see how counting unique visitors on a blog should become a crime. By setting the standard that everyone is violating the law, you encourage everyone to ignore your law.

Jazgot• 7 years ago

In my opinion the ability to give consent for cookies or anything else should be standardised part of browsers and another W3C standard. This should be integral part of browser, the same way as for consent for camera or microphone use.

Sick of cookie banners and popups? They’re all changing, again

Related Stories