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Unfortunately, GDPR does not just apply to EU companies, it applies to services provided to EU citizens and residents. It is very specific about the requirements for explicit and excessively informed consent to use almost any user provided data. The penalties for non-compliance are quite severe, hence the wacky huge notifications.
We tried to keep it simple, but then we don't track our users, so our cookies have minimal data to worry about.
"Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana."
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Matthew@work wrote: We tried to keep it simple, but then we don't track our users, so our cookies have minimal data to worry about.
You sadly are one of the very few exceptions. So KUDOS and my Gratitude for it (and many other things).
THANK YOU
I am more than glad to come here and be a part of it
 ![Rose | [Rose]](https://codeproject.global.ssl.fastly.net/script/Forums/Images/rose.gif)
M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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A mixture of web sites trying to get the most out of your visit and the law attempting at giving you the chance to prevent that.
My favorite time of the internet was before privacy law got hold (because it wasn't needed). A web site had a session cookie, but that's about it. With the gradual introduction of tracking, the simple banner became more or less mandatory. With the absolutely sprawling data collection & sharing practice of nowadays, the EU privacy directive became as draconian as it is because it had to be as the web industry has shown that it will do everything it can within a legal frame, no matter the moral implications.
I don't think that there's anything preventing web sites from displaying a simple "Do you accept privacy-infringing cookies"-banner with a clear NO option disabling everything except the choice not to be pestered by data leeches. But instead, they give you fine-grained controls most likely to lull you into giving in by overwhelming you with options.
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European law, GDPR, that went into effect about a year ago.
As a European I'm annoyed too.
On the other hand, companies are abusing the data they secretly collect about consumers, sometimes even for paid services, and this is one of the measures taken by the EU to make it more transparent what data a service collects and what they do with that data.
I guess it's annoying, but not all bad either
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Sander Rossel wrote: abusing the data
Ya, it's terrible. I see ads of things I am actually interested in. Ugghh. It's the worst.
Social Media - A platform that makes it easier for the crazies to find each other.
Everyone is born right handed. Only the strongest overcome it.
Fight for left-handed rights and hand equality.
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The worst part is how you're being manipulated.
It goes beyond just showing you things you're interested in.
For example, they can tell if someone is pregnant by their browse and search behavior.
They single out all these pregnant women and give them special offers, diapers and such.
When you're pregnant and all of a sudden you get these offers you feel like you're being watched, which you are, but shops came up with a clever way to pretend like they're not watching...
They add some generic stuff with the offer so it seems like the diapers are just on sale by coincidence while they really aren't.
Now why pregnant women, study has shown that pregnant women are more susceptible to change their brand.
So if they always shop at A this is the time to switch to B if B offers them diapers.
And while they're out diaper shopping at B they might just as well get their other non-kids stuff (groceries) from B as well.
Pregnant women might seem harmless enough, but they do this with people who are addicted, with children who don't fully know what they're doing yet, with people who are somehow vulnerable or susceptible...
You might say it's "their choice" to buy or not, but not everyone is that strong (all the time) and the manipulation is clever.
It gets scarier when you think that there's been a research (true or not) that has shown companies used all this data to get Trump elected.
Not to turn this into a political discussion, but they're able to show exactly the news items they want you to see for their political agenda's.
They know you haven't made up your mind yet, but they want you to vote for Trump, so you get to see "SCANDAL! Hillary has private emails" and "Trump hugs a cute baby", but they leave out "Hillary has done good things" and "Trump's charity is a fraud".
Now again, I don't know how much of the election part is true, but I believe it could very well be true, and that's already scary enough.
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Sander Rossel wrote: and the manipulation is clever.
OK, but this has been going on since the dawn of time. People are always trying to trick people into buying their product. It's called being a salesperson. I don't see this tracking as anything new. It's just easier now.
Social Media - A platform that makes it easier for the crazies to find each other.
Everyone is born right handed. Only the strongest overcome it.
Fight for left-handed rights and hand equality.
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Salesmanship has been going on since the dawn of barter but tracking stalking customers using data technology has not. There are now huge enterprises spending billions trying to surruptitiously trick, coerce and brainwash humanity. It doesn't feel like a good thing, in the least.
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MKJCP wrote: but tracking stalking customers using data technology has not.
Sure it has. The only difference now is that the technology has advanced.
If a store knows that I buy a certain product and then gives me a coupon for it, I don't see the harm.
Social Media - A platform that makes it easier for the crazies to find each other.
Everyone is born right handed. Only the strongest overcome it.
Fight for left-handed rights and hand equality.
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Quote: Sure it has.
Stalking customers using data technology has been happening since the dawn of barter? I doubt you really mean that.
If it were only products and coupons it would be harmless. I am saying the use of "big data" more generally is, on the whole, bad for society.
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MKJCP wrote: I doubt you really mean that.
Sure. What first comes to mind are the grocery stores that long, long ago created memberships.
MKJCP wrote: the use of "big data" more generally is, on the whole, bad for society.
Can you give an example of why? Because I feel like most people are scared because "WE'RE BEING TRACKED!!!" but not really realizing there is no harm. And even more so, because most everyone CARRIES A TRACKER AROUND IN THEIR POCKET already!!! 
Social Media - A platform that makes it easier for the crazies to find each other.
Everyone is born right handed. Only the strongest overcome it.
Fight for left-handed rights and hand equality.
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Facebook. It thrives on gathered data and attaches itself to peoples lives like a blood sucking leech. They aren't doing it for the users.
I have been around long enough to see the before and after effects of all this great technology. On balance, the internet is a negative for society. Maybe I am jaded but I am not a mindless consipiracy theorist who is scared of being tracked.
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MKJCP wrote: Facebook. It thrives on gathered data and attaches itself to peoples lives like a blood sucking leech. They aren't doing it for the users.
Agree.
MKJCP wrote: On balance, the internet is a negative for society.
Agree.
But I am curious if you have more than feelings on this, if you have a specific example of all the data collection causing real harm.
Social Media - A platform that makes it easier for the crazies to find each other.
Everyone is born right handed. Only the strongest overcome it.
Fight for left-handed rights and hand equality.
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There are many cases of identity theft. My friends Mom to be specific.
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MKJCP wrote: There are many cases of identity theft.
But that does not happen because of tracking data. And that also happened long before the internet or cookies.
Social Media - A platform that makes it easier for the crazies to find each other.
Everyone is born right handed. Only the strongest overcome it.
Fight for left-handed rights and hand equality.
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No, I said "Data Collection". You asked for an example. You seem to be stuck on tracking.
The internet allowed the means for identity theft to become an industry. Do you have specific examples of identity theft as we know it long before the internet?
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MKJCP wrote: specific examples of identity theft as we know it long before the internet?
No, but I know it happened.
Social Media - A platform that makes it easier for the crazies to find each other.
Everyone is born right handed. Only the strongest overcome it.
Fight for left-handed rights and hand equality.
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ZurdoDev wrote: specific example of all the data collection causing real harm
Did you read my post about companies preying on the weak (addicts, children, the sick, otherwise vulnerable people)?
They know you're vulnerable and they take advantage of it using manipulation.
Back in the days at least they didn't know your weaknesses, especially not of it's temporary, like illness.
And if people knew, it was probably only local and at least companies from across the globe wouldn't leech you for it.
And then of course there's the whole getting Trump elected thing (whether you believe that one or not, stuff like that does happen).
I'm also not about conspiracy theories, but how is big companies knowing everything you do a good thing?
They're inevitably going to use that data to make more money at your expense.
Like selling your data so now everybody knows what you do, when you do it, where you do it and how you do it 
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Sander Rossel wrote: about companies preying on the weak (addicts, children, the sick, otherwise vulnerable people)?
Ya, but that's nothing new. Like I said, it's called being a salesman.
Sander Rossel wrote: They're inevitably going to use that data to make more money at your expense.
Again, the only thing new here is that it is easier now. But the concept is as old as sales people have been around. The downfall of paying based on commissions only.
Sander Rossel wrote: Like selling your data so now everybody knows what you do, when you do it, where you do it and how you do it
First off, most people have been carrying a tracking device in their pocket for years now. Secondly, no one has my address so no one can pinpoint my activities to me directly. And even if they did know that I bought toilet paper from walmart.com, what damage can that do?
Social Media - A platform that makes it easier for the crazies to find each other.
Everyone is born right handed. Only the strongest overcome it.
Fight for left-handed rights and hand equality.
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As PT Barnum used to say, there's a sucker born every minute.
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They are a pain. I have given up on some sites because their cookies screen wouldnt go away on mobile.
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I don't care about cookies - Chrome Web Store[^]
The main problem about all this is - I care about privacy. Now I am left with two choices : Click the cookie or GDPR pop-up and navigate, or leave the site.
What did improve now ? I cannot prevent the sites from collecting data, but only get warned that websites collect data. Which they all do. This GDPR thing is the most useless thing ever, a wrong solution to a real problem.
What I would like is - If I do not subscribe to cookies or collecting data, then let me navigate your website WITHOUT COLLECTING THE DAMN DATA OR PUTTING COOKIES EVERYWHERE.
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Rage wrote: What I would like is - If I do not subscribe to cookies or collecting data, then let me navigate your website WITHOUT COLLECTING THE DAMN DATA OR PUTTING COOKIES EVERYWHERE.
I believe the intent of the GPDR is exactly that, but the ad companies deliberately put up these huge annoying dialogs expecting people to just click OK without fully realizing what they're agreeing to. That way they're in the clear with the GPDR and can collect data to their hearts content.
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Rage wrote: let me navigate your website WITHOUT COLLECTING THE DAMN DATA OR PUTTING COOKIES EVERYWHERE.
You want them to add if statements around all of their cookie code?  That could take some time.
Social Media - A platform that makes it easier for the crazies to find each other.
Everyone is born right handed. Only the strongest overcome it.
Fight for left-handed rights and hand equality.
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"That could take some time"... exactly. But if they both want me to visit their site, and to comply with GDPR and other privacy laws, that's the cost of doing business.
The point of my original post was that far too often companies are being damn lazy and just splattering a "we're gonna load up your machine with our cookies, if you don't like it, tough you don't even get to see our home page" sign (or words to that effect). GDPR meant to make cookies optional, but companies are so lazy they take the easy approach.
Of course the cookie-dependent code should be conditional - as developers we should all know not to make assumptions about the presence of things we can't directly control (like cookies) so even without an opt-out option, the site shouldn't fall over in their absence.
The issue is just the tip of an iceberg that could sink society - the laziness, sloppiness and self-centredness of most of today's business. (In fact it's not just businesses, either - increasingly it's on charity, "public service" information, government sites etc too).
Plus, I was wondering if other people do what I do - just delete the offending HTML elements so I can see what I want to on the page (and without navigating further on the site).
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