The dumbness of the EU cookie consent law
Cookie consent banners are pop-ups or notifications on websites that ask a user whether they want to accept browser cookies. Privacy laws in the European Union (EU), such as the ePrivacy Directive of 2002, require websites to get explicit consent from users before storing cookies on their devices. Because of this, Europeans collectively lose approximately 575 million hours each year clicking through cookie consent banners mandated by EU law.[1]
Criticism
Cookie consent banners have been described as "annoying digital bouncers" that interrupt the browsing experience for many website visitors in the EU. Despite their intended privacy benefits, they are widely regarded as a nuisance.[2] Users are constantly bombarded with these banners on almost every website they visit, disrupting their browsing experience. This leads to "cookie fatigue," where users often accept the cookies without understanding the implications, just to get rid of the pop-up.
Cookie banners impact businesses by subtly eroding productivity and user satisfaction. Banners reduce the amount of time spent on useful work. Employees lose productive hours in a month to the cookie consent banners. Customers have a less satisfying experience and get frustrated with brands that could drive them elsewhere.[3]
The implementation of the EU cookie consent law has been criticised as out of touch with how people actually use the Internet.[4]
References
- ^ "Europeans Spend 575 Million Hours Clicking Cookie Banners Every Year". Legiscope. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
- ^ "Automatically Reject Cookies: How to Get Rid of Annoying Cookie Consent Banners". www.experte.com. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
- ^ "Europeans spend 575 Million hours per year clicking cookie banners". www.simpleanalytics.com. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
- ^ "Cookie banners show everything that's wrong with the EU". world.hey.com. Retrieved 2025-04-21.