Earlier quoted context omitted.
Businesses: want to track users and collect their data with reckless abandon Businesses: implement rampant dark patterns to trick people into accepting tracking and data collection Businesses: flood the internet with inane, obnoxious and blatantly illegal cookie dialogs ... 4ad: I blame the EU (Hint: show me where GDPR says anything about cookies)
I blame the businesses for destroying the social fabric of the internet, and I simultaneously blame the EU for implementing pointless regulations that do not solve the first problem while making life miserable for its subjects.
Regulation, literally: do not collect people's data without their consent if you don't require that data for services you provide. Applies in equal measure to websites, banks, grocery stores, shit processing plants and nuclear power stations.
...
4ad: I still blame the EU, and it's a pointless regulation.
Edit: This comment really says it much better: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35567507