EU wants to repeal the cookie law that ruined the internet

The European Commission is preparing a major overhaul of digital legislation that could put an end to annoying cookie consent banners, a 2009 rule that has become the basis of today's "pop-up chaos" on the Internet, Politico reports.

Then the EU updated the e-Privacy directive, requiring sites to obtain user consent before installing cookies on a device, except for those "absolutely necessary" for the service to function. Over time, this led to every site showing consent banners that users almost always ignored.

"Too much consent basically kills consent," explains Peter Craddock, a data lawyer at Keller and Heckman.

According to him, people are so used to clicking "I agree" that they have stopped reading messages carefully and do not take them seriously.

Now Brussels is planning to change that. In December, the commission will present an "omnibus text" that aims to remove excessive requirements for digital companies. Last week, officials met with industry representatives to discuss options for reforming the rules on cookies. Ideas include allowing users to set their preferences once in their browser, rather than each time they visit a new site, or expanding the list of exceptions where consent is not required.

Some EU countries have already proposed similar changes. For example, Denmark has proposed to abandon banners in cases where cookies are needed for technically necessary functions or basic statistics.

The industry is pushing for the integration of cookie rules into the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It is more flexible, allowing companies to choose an approach based on risk, while the e-Privacy Directive requires strict consent in any case.

However, the reform will inevitably face strong opposition from privacy advocates. There are fears in Europe that expanding the exemptions will open the way for additional user tracking and targeted advertising.

"Focusing on cookies is like rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic, the ship being surveillance advertising," says Itxaso Domínguez de Olazábal⁩, policy adviser at European Digital Rights.

The debate will continue next year, when the EU will introduce a new law — the Digital Fairness Act — to regulate online advertising and protect consumers from manipulative design.