Consent or Die

The internet has become an inhospitable place. A star, a tree, and surely some rare insect die every time you plant a consent banner. Do you hate your website visitors so much?

Since I’m inspired and surrounded by North Carolina pumpkins… How is this for a nightmare? While still in Brussels, back in 1999, I was handed out a hard copy of the EU Parliament’s proposed amendments to what would become the ePrivacy Directive. To my disbelief, it included an opt-in provision for non-exempted cookies and similar technologies.

Even though the Council and EU Commission ended up imposing their own version of the particular clause (with an opt-out), our relief would be short-lived. A 2009 amendment revisited the idea, resulting in a redraft of article 5.3 that would earn it the nickname “Cookie Law”. Nobody would subsequently dare to touch it (despite the many attempts at cracking an ePrivacy Regulation).

The ghosts of the tormented souls that once could not foresee the damage they would inflict on generations to come (by, for instance, letting browsers off the hook) have inhabited the European cyberlands ever since, forevermore wandering about our every digital interaction in the form of insufferable consent banners.

I have spent far too many years criticizing this, from my first talk on the matter (2004 in beautiful Cuzco, Peru — to an audience of three or four, at the Alfa-Redi IT Law Congress) to articles on disparities across various guidelines, “discriminatory” treatment of analytics-related cookies, the impact that the GDPR would have on a mis-aligned ePrivacy Directive, and a few other angles.

At long last it seems like technology is coming to the rescue. Not in the form of opportunistic endeavors to spread the virus and perpetuate this collective torture (enough of that), but rather in the form of better browsers, user-centric extensions, Do Not Track signals, the Global Privacy Control protocol, personal wallets, digital IDs, and other means of personal agency.

But, although I would expect to add to this if I find the time, I did not come here to repeat myself.

Only to wish you all a Happy Halloween 🎃

(Should you feel the urge, do not hesitate to listen to our latest Masters of Privacy episode on the subject: Consent or Pay, with Robert Bateman.)