Stop blaming Brussels
A common myth, even among people who work in the web business, is that cookie banners are mandated by the European Union, and it’s their fault we’re subject to an endless barrage of these banners as we surf the web.
This is what's known in technical terms as “completely wrong”.
The ePrivacy directive doesn’t force websites to implement cookie banners at all. What the law says is that organisations are required to obtain your explicit informed consent if they want to track you online. The obvious response would simply be not to track people. But that would mean giving up on lucrative data. So instead, companies built cookie banners.
This is “malicious compliance”. The site owner can technically claim "We gave them a choice" but the design ensures the choice isn't free or informed at all. Complying (barely) with the rule of law while violating its intent.
Every time you see a cookie consent banner, it means someone is collecting your personal data as free raw material – whether the site owner is profiting from it directly or they've embedded third-party tools that do it on their behalf.
Do you really want to be seen that way?
The solution is simple: don’t track your users’ personal data and you won’t have to pretend “we care about your privacy” (no one believes you, by the way…).
Colin