[Measter]

Wouldn't this also mean that if a user was using one of those browser extensions that automatically click "yes" to close the pop, then the site would not have informed consent, and therefore would not be allowed to collect the data?

[immibis]

If a child wearing stilts and a long coat walks into a movie theater where children can enter for free, and buys an adult ticket, then watches the movie, is he entitled to sue the theater and claim a refund?

Programming your computer to automatically click "yes" sounds like affirmatively giving consent to all popups to me. The standard for consent here is lower than for things like sex.

[SpicyLemonZest]

That seems too clever. If you set up a browser extension that automatically writes your signature on any contract people email to you and returns it, I'm pretty sure you're bound by those contracts.

[1718627440]

Yes. Who the hell uses such a browser extension, though? I use an extension, that always clicks no, but why would anyone want to always be tracked?

[dspillett]

Be careful with just clicking the big “decline” button. That skips past your opportunity to “object to legitimate interests”¹ in many cases.

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[1] Here “legitimate interest” essentially means “we see your preference not to be stalked, but we want to so we are going to make it that bit more faf to opt out, because fuck you and the privacy we lie about caring about”.

[pasc1878]

And that is breaking the law. The decline button means decline all.

[dspillett]

> And that is breaking the law.

Definitely the spirit of it, though some claim not the letter or it due to loopholes.

> The decline button means decline all.

It certainly should, but I never trust it does (with other dark patterns on show I'm all out of benefit-of-the-doubt) and go into to "details" to look for objection toggles. Not that I particularly trust those anyway, but that is a different niggle!

[1718627440]

Decline all means decline everything the law says you need consent for. The Google dialog kind of describes it perfectly: "Decline all cookies for this additional purposes".

[dspillett]

> Decline all means decline everything the law says you need consent for.

I agree, it should do. But many sites don't consider the “legitimate interest” crap (“we see your preference not to be stalked, but we want to anyway so you'll have to object separately”) to not be something that they have to get consent for, hence the option is to object/not rather than to consent/not. If you hit decline all without objecting to “legitimate interests” [sic], in at least some case, I suspect many, much tracking will still happen.

> The Google dialog kind of describes it perfectly: "Decline all cookies for this additional purposes".

IIRC Google's preferences don't include any legitimate interest gubbins at all, so that isn't really relevant. And just because one tracking nag screen does things a certain way, does not mean that many others work differently.

[1718627440]

There are websites that let you opt out of legitimate interests? That is a term of the law which means that you don't need user content.

The extension I use is called Ghostery and it also claims to block other tracking.