Ask HN: GDPR pop-ups are getting so annying, what should we do about it?

#1

Post by smoqadam » Wed, Feb 23, 2022, 7:38 AM UTC

Lately, I close every website that shows me a big, junky, stupid GPDR cookie consent (e.g. https://www.runnersworld.com/), but honestly I don't find many websites that has a reasonably small and well-designed cookie consent (e.g. https://www.rei.com/).

It seems that these pop-ups are designed to annoy users to force them to click on the Accept button right away, and most of them hide the rejection button somewhere, or make it difficult to find.

The reader mode on the browser works well sometimes, but it's not a permanent way to get rid of those pop-ups.

These pop-ups are making it hard to enjoy the Internet, what do you suggest to do to get rid of these pop-ups?

Thank you.

Re: Ask HN: GDPR pop-ups are getting so annying, what should we do about it?

#2

Post by mytailorisrich » Wed, Feb 23, 2022, 7:47 AM UTC

The GDPR mandate explicit consent and websites really want your consent because they rely on those cookies. So we end up with those dark patterns pop-ups because of the usual law of incentives and self-interest.

As a consequence, IMHO the only way to get rid of those pop-ups is to change the GDPR to mandate a simpler format. But that's not straightforward when there are potentially cookies for different functions and each requires specific consent... We're touching a fundamental issue with wanting to regulate the way the GDPR do...

Re: Ask HN: GDPR pop-ups are getting so annying, what should we do about it?

#3

Post by baash05 » Wed, Feb 23, 2022, 7:50 AM UTC

I just put an ip-address to country list in my middleware and block all the GDPR countries. Now I have no issue with popups or cookies.

Honestly, I'd like to see more people follow that. I got the idea from others and it seems like a perfect solution.

People who can't/don't want cookies cannot really use any site I've ever worked on. It makes no sense building things for people who won't ever be customers.

Re: Ask HN: GDPR pop-ups are getting so annying, what should we do about it?

#4

Post by baash05 » Wed, Feb 23, 2022, 7:55 AM UTC

mytailorisrich wrote: post #2

The GDPR mandate explicit consent and websites really want your consent because they rely on those cookies. So we end up with those dark patterns pop-ups because of the usual law of incentives and self-interest. As a consequence, IMHO the only way to get rid of those pop-ups is to change the GDPR to mandate a simpler format. But that's not straightforward when there are potentially cookies for different functions and…

A few weeks back someone lost a case in Germany because they used google fonts, and forgot to tell people. After that, I say, why take the risk? I have more important things to think about.

Re: Ask HN: GDPR pop-ups are getting so annying, what should we do about it?

#5

Post by systemvoltage » Wed, Feb 23, 2022, 7:57 AM UTC

mytailorisrich wrote: post #2

The GDPR mandate explicit consent and websites really want your consent because they rely on those cookies. So we end up with those dark patterns pop-ups because of the usual law of incentives and self-interest. As a consequence, IMHO the only way to get rid of those pop-ups is to change the GDPR to mandate a simpler format. But that's not straightforward when there are potentially cookies for different functions and…

Is this an indictment and is it fair to say GDPR is a poorly implemented regulation? I am a pro-privacy advocate but like those cancer warning labels in California, I always accept cookies and move on. Billions of people spend a few seconds everyday clicking on these cookie banners. What would be the economic damage vs. privacy benefits? I appreciate what companies like Apple does with regards to privacy because it actually makes my life easier, not more difficult.

Another problem is the imprecise language of GDPR. "It's mostly not enforced for small businesses" doesn't cut it when it comes to adherence to law. Businesses need assurance, not ambiguity.

Re: Ask HN: GDPR pop-ups are getting so annying, what should we do about it?

#6

Post by onion2k » Wed, Feb 23, 2022, 8:00 AM UTC

These pop-ups are making it hard to enjoy the Internet, what do you suggest to do to get rid of these pop-ups?

Embrace them. Learn to love them. They're a good feature. Making websites explicitly require permission to do (subjectively) negative things like tracking users is a massively positive step in the right direction towards us all having ownership and agency over of our lives as we spend time online. Sure, it means we have to do a little work to say yes or no when a site wants to do something, but that's the cost of privacy. It's not very high.

There could be technical solutions (eg browsers could sent a header to automatically consent with the initial request) or you could use a plugin (eg consent-o-matic), but really, this stuff is important enough that "Eurgh! I had to click a button again! I'd sacrifice my privacy not to have to do that any more!" is a really bad take in my opinion.

Re: Ask HN: GDPR pop-ups are getting so annying, what should we do about it?

#7

Post by moribunda » Wed, Feb 23, 2022, 8:01 AM UTC

baash05 wrote: post #3

I just put an ip-address to country list in my middleware and block all the GDPR countries. Now I have no issue with popups or cookies. Honestly, I'd like to see more people follow that. I got the idea from others and it seems like a perfect solution. People who can't/don't want cookies cannot really use any site I've ever worked on. It makes no sense building things for people who won't ever be customers.

You can use cookies with GDPR. Are you aware of split into 4 cookie categories? Is it surprising that people want some privacy and you can actually disagree to tracking?

Of course, people should be able to disable tracking more like: i don't want to be tracked by alphabet and Facebook, rather than turning it off for every website separately.

Re: Ask HN: GDPR pop-ups are getting so annying, what should we do about it?

#8

Post by drakonka » Wed, Feb 23, 2022, 8:08 AM UTC

I think what we can do about it is exactly what you've been doing: close the sites that purposefully make them obnoxious. The GDPR does not require these consent prompts to be this horrible. Websites make them that way to annoy users into getting mad at the privacy legislation _and_ also just click "Allow" by default to get to the content. Any website that uses such tactics is not a website I'm interested in using.

Re: Ask HN: GDPR pop-ups are getting so annying, what should we do about it?

#9

Post by krageon » Wed, Feb 23, 2022, 8:24 AM UTC

baash05 wrote: post #3

I just put an ip-address to country list in my middleware and block all the GDPR countries. Now I have no issue with popups or cookies. Honestly, I'd like to see more people follow that. I got the idea from others and it seems like a perfect solution. People who can't/don't want cookies cannot really use any site I've ever worked on. It makes no sense building things for people who won't ever be customers.

It must be really odious for you to respect the people that use your website. Thank you for removing yourself.

Re: Ask HN: GDPR pop-ups are getting so annying, what should we do about it?

#10

Post by bwb » Wed, Feb 23, 2022, 8:25 AM UTC

I use a chrome extension to auto accept everything. They are incredibly annoying. I wish i could do that on my phone.

I do not know any non techy who gives them more than 1 second of thought. They annoy everyone without doing anything good. My hope is the EU passes real privacy regulation at the company level. This cookie popup accomplishes nothing beyond annoying everyone.