I've done some basic reading on GDPR but can't honestly say I have it completely figured out. Can someone help me out with a use case that I come across frequently? Selling tracking data to third parties is the kind of thing noone wants to actually opt in to, and what I imagine GDPR partially tries to combat. (among other things)
What about site statistics keeping? If say a newspaper collects statistics about visitors to their articles, and does browser/user tracking by implementing cookies, for __internal__ use, rather than selling data to third parties. Is a cookie banner still neccesary for that kind of consent?
Personally, I don't care if my IP appears on any website log that I have visited, or if a unique cookie ID becomes present on the site until I clear my cookies. If i cared about my IP being tracked, or cookie IDs like that, I would browse using a VPN and "Private mode" in browser. What I do care about is the complex browser fingerprinting that keeps track of (essentially) my entire browser history, externally, with everything from my google searches, youtube videos, online purchases and website visits being visible in some kind of giant aggregate form.
Basically compare it to being videotaped when entering a store. Yeah sure, I might be a bit irked by the camera but I don't care too much. Comparing that to putting a camera on every street corner, and using facial recognition to generate a day by day pattern of all my visits to all stores the last 30 years, and I'm not a happy camper any more.
I would even go as far as cookie banners for the above tracking scenario, where you are tracked completely, should be illegal. That kind of "consent" can't even be gained by just clicking a on a website, it would require a valid ID and signature at least.
And on the other hand, the "internal store videocamera" taping customers as they enter, perhaps even applying face recognition software to count unique visitors per year to the store, is hardly worth the hassle of a clicking a cookie banner personally. I'm certainly not averse to a position of not wanting to be tracked when entering a store or a webpage though, and if someone has a personal need to not be tracked like that, they should be able to apply basic non consent based tools to avoid being tracked. Like wearing sunglasses and a cap when entering the store, or browsing using a VPN.