> Even in countries with strict laws like the GDPR, Google's trackers are still everywhere. That raises questions about how effective these regulations really are in practice. This is basically it. GDPR is a stupid unenforceable law, and should be wiped from the books. Try again with something new.
Many "cookie banners" have finally started to work in the EU. Once you deny PII processing many sites don't load GA etc... The time of malicious compliance is starting to pass. Some sites have figured it out and realized they really don't need personalized analytics and have replaced implementations with privacy respecting ones(ex, plausible). This lets them remove the dark-patternish banner and no additional consent is required as all data is pooled together and one persons actions truly can't be singled out.
GDPR obviously has other good effects but as PII processing through cookies is what most people know, I chose that as an example. Email tracking links & pixels are another good example.
There's also a big difference between 2018 and 2025 when discussing GDPR in work contexts and saying that implementing this or that tracking would be illegal.
It's a slow process, but it's working as intended.