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posted by martyb on Friday August 31 2018, @07:40AM   Printer-friendly
from the how-the-cookie-crumbles dept.

The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) went into effect in May 2018 and requires that companies obtain explicit permission from individuals to utilize their data. Since the GDPR became enforceable, the number of third-party cookies found on news websites in Europe declined by 22%, according to a study by Reuters Institute.

Between April and July, Reuters researchers analyzed about 1 million content requests from more than 200 news publishers in the EU. They found that the number of third-party cookies used per webpage declined from about 80 in April to about 60 in July.

[Ed note: I use the "Cookies Exterminator" add-on for Pale Moon that, except for my white-listed web sites, removes all cookies after something like a 15-second delay. How do you keep your cookies under control? --martyb]


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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 31 2018, @12:18PM (6 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 31 2018, @12:18PM (#728707)

    Actually, the GDPR *enables* the free choice of all its in-the-flesh citizens, by forcing websites to be explicit about tracking. If a site tells you "We'll track the living shit outta you" and you say "OK", then that's basically OK under the GDPR (yesyesyes, only first order of approximation). If you have nothing to hide, then you have nothing to fear.

    If, however, a site wants to actively undermine the citizen's free choice through not-telling-it-all, weasel-words, half-truths or outright lying, then the righteous wrath of the GDPR shall rain upon it .... and make no mistake, *that* is what all the EU-blockers are so very much afraid of!

    .... Oh .... ahhh!

    Of course, if you think that corporations are citizens too, then your statement suddenly makes sense. Yes, the GDPR takes a lot of freedom away from "corporate citizens": the freedom to lie, the freedom to deceive, the freedom to fake, the freedom to pretty-print, and also the freedom to refrain-from-mentioning. Yes, that's a lot of lost freedoms compared to other regions of the world.

    It's also what we around here call "civilized", and even "progress": you may not, secretly, fuck the populace from behind.

    Don't like it? Just keep blocking us. And good riddance.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 31 2018, @12:42PM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 31 2018, @12:42PM (#728717)

    Actually, the GDPR *enables* the free choice of all its in-the-flesh citizens, by forcing websites to be explicit about tracking.

    It's built right into your web browser preferences you fucking clown. Instead of having the setting on the device, have them on every website and if you purge all cookies on browser exit, you get "free choice" every time you revisit a web site. GDPR is an inefficient adblocker for retards.

    • (Score: 5, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Friday August 31 2018, @02:23PM

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Friday August 31 2018, @02:23PM (#728749) Journal

      Let me guess - you were born stupid, and there is no cure.

      It takes some moderate EFFORT on the part of internet users to turn off all that tracking. When people started learning, and applying, effective means to block tracking, the trackers came out with their "super cookies". People learned to defeat those, so the trackers came out with fingerprinting. Canvass. What's next?

      It's bad enough that so many people don't know, and/or don't care about tracking. But YOUR TEAM works hard to track those of us who do know, and do care.

      Just to be clear, no browser has ever displayed the question, "Is it alright for sites to install a super cookie on your computer, which will track you, no matter how many regular cookies you erase?" "Is it alright with you if sites fingerprint you, share your fingerprint with dozens of other sites, so they can all track everything you do on the internet?"

      How about one better? "Is it alright if sites install tracking devices on your machines and/or home network, so that they can learn that your daughter is pregnant before you know about it?"

      In case you haven't got the message yet: YOUR SIDE DISGUSTS ME!

      If you, or I, were to PERSONALLY install tracking on any person's computers, and we were found out, overnight, we would become "Creepiest Motherfucker in America". Our names and faces would be plastered on the evening news for weeks to come, if not longer.

      Think about that for awhile.

      GDPR is great, and the US needs to enact that very same rules.

      You need to note that this does not stop tracking entirely. You can easily put a popup on your website, that says, "If you don't allow me to track you, you cannot read my shitzls!" Those who accept the tracking, in exchange for your schitzls are find. Those who refuse are also fine. JUST STOP SNEAKING IN BEHIND THEM!

    • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 31 2018, @02:50PM (3 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 31 2018, @02:50PM (#728764)

      Actually, I'm not the kind of clown who fucks :o)

      The GDPR is not an adblocker, and not meant to be. The GDPR is a tool to level the playing field between powerful websites and powerless users. By forcing the visibility of information, it allows an informed choice for users. And it works, too, as I could observe on numerous occasions, for those users who actually care.

      Of course, I do realize that there are very strong interests that would be much happier with users who can be exploited in ignorance. As I said: I find that anti-social. Good riddance.

      BTW: I find your emotional reaction very interesting. Why are you so riled up about the GDPR?

      • (Score: 2) by HiThere on Friday August 31 2018, @04:57PM (1 child)

        by HiThere (866) Subscriber Badge on Friday August 31 2018, @04:57PM (#728820) Journal

        Some people dislike anything done by the EU government...or possibly even by the EU member states. This provides them sufficient reason to dislike the GDPR. You can recognize them because they never can find good reasons that they are willing to publicly admit for their dislike...unless you consider "they're foreigners!" to be a good reason, as many will admit that.

        --
        Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 31 2018, @05:38PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 31 2018, @05:38PM (#728851)

          It's a manner of "buyer's remorse" where they can only justify their own shitty system by ranking on another.

      • (Score: 1) by easyTree on Friday August 31 2018, @10:20PM

        by easyTree (6882) on Friday August 31 2018, @10:20PM (#729004)

        Business has responded variously:
          * Destroy the user experience until you go through compliance.
          * Provide a LONG list of cookies used by the site and long article explaining how to block them
          * Provide a single-click method to allow creeping on the user and really convoluted, deprioritised series of steps to automate creeping-denial for each of the hundreds of 'partners' who want to creep on you. May of these don't provide an automated method to avoid creeping so there's a link to more BS.
          * Optionally remove access to site unless creeping is allowed

        In other words, SOP oily-teflon-weasel bullshit:
          * we want to creep all up on your information and we'll make it really difficult for you if you're not into that.