Have you ever clicked ‘I agree’ on one of those cookie consent pop-ups without actually reading the choices you’re agreeing to, just to be able to visit the website you’ve landed on and get on with what you’re doing?
If so, you’re certainly not alone.
Privacy regulations have given rise to a requirement for websites to seek permission before using cookies, but the way that this is done is not always popular.
Some people, in fact, find the pop-ups more invasive and annoying than having cookies placed on their device in the first place.
At the G7 meeting held this week, Elizabeth Denham, the outgoing commissioner at the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), is presenting new ideas on how to improve the cookie permissions process.
Ahead of the meeting, she revealed that people frequently said that they were tired of having to deal with so many cookie pop-ups.
This fatigue could lead to them sharing more personal data than they otherwise would.
She added that this is also bad for businesses and others who operate websites, as it adds costs and often leads to a poorer user experience.
Denham said that while all businesses were expected to comply with existing laws, she was asking for international collaboration to tackle the issue.
She said that an international approach was needed as there were almost two billion websites working within privacy and data regimes around the world.
ICO wants users to set long-lasting privacy preferences
The ICO’s proposed solution involves allowing users to set their own privacy preferences that are long lasting and can be identified and implemented whenever they visit a new website.
This will prevent the need to set preferences individually for every website they visit, and the ICO believes that this will improve the experience for both the user and the website.
They also believe that this could help minimise the levels of personal data they share.
The ICO believes that the technology for this already exists and that the weight of the G7 could encourage tech firms to develop and implement solutions.
Jim Killock of Open Rights Group, which supports freedom of speech and digital privacy, was critical of the move.
He said that “most” cookie banners and the data collection connected to them were currently unlawful and that the ICO should be enforcing existing laws.
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