[samuelfekete]

The money raised from these fines should go towards building a browser that handles cookie permissions on the browser side.

Every site should get to ask for cookie permissions only once - through the browser - (like with notifications or location), and the browser should remember the user’s preferences and never ask again.

[userbinator]

should go towards building a browser that handles cookie permissions on the browser side.

Don't they all do that? Per-site cookie management in the browser has been around since IE6 if not earlier:

https://www.nlm.nih.gov/share/image/cookies_ie6_002.jpg

[samuelfekete]

True, but the UX was deemed to complex for the average user.

Instead of it being something the user has to manually find in settings and configure, the browser can show an unobtrusive prompt for the user to agree whenever a site tries to store a cookie for the first time.

There could also be changes to the cookie standard that allow specifying if a cookie is “essential”, so browsers can permit them by default, or “non-essential”, so the browser should prompt the user.

[rightbyte]

I have a vague memory that IE or maybe Netscape asked you for permission for each site with cookies way back?

[baby]

Browsers already do this. These cookie laws are just plain stupid.

[MauranKilom]

No, the websites choosing to disregard both spirit and letter of the law are plain stupid.

[baby]

Old man yelling at clouds