The European Commission wants to take a bite out of privacy rules that force websites to run cookie banners.

The European Commission aims to reform the EU’s cookie consent rules that have cluttered websites with intrusive banners asking for permission to track user data[1]. The initiative seeks to streamline data protection while maintaining privacy safeguards through centralized consent mechanisms[1:1].

Cookie consent banners emerged from the ePrivacy Directive (Cookie Law) and GDPR requirements, which mandate websites obtain explicit user permission before collecting non-essential data through cookies[2]. Current rules have led to widespread implementation of pop-up notices that interrupt user experience and often employ confusing interfaces.

The proposed changes reflect growing recognition that the existing approach has “messed up the internet” while failing to provide meaningful privacy protection[1:2]. Rather than requiring individual consent on every website, the Commission is exploring solutions like centralized consent management to reduce banner fatigue while preserving user privacy rights.

  1. Ground News - Europe’s cookie law messed up the internet. Brussels wants to fix it. ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  2. Transcend - Cookie Consent Banner Best Practices: Optimizing Your Consent Management Experience ↩︎

  • funkycarrot@discuss.tchncs.de
    3·
    2 days ago

    I can hear the lobbyists (both civil society and big tech, mainly the big tech ones) marching towards Brussels right now. This will be as heated as the Digital Markets Act.

    Fighting is expected to flare up again next year, when the Commission wants to present an advertising-focused piece of legislation called the Digital Fairness Act. The executive has stated that the rulebook will help protect consumers online, including from manipulative design or unfair personalization.