Privacy and free speech advocate Open Rights Group (ORG) has conducted an in-depth analysis of the United Kingdom's recent plans to rid websites of the all-too-familiar cookie consent checkbox. According to ORG, erasing websites of this consent form would allow online spying to become the "default option," making internet privacy all the direr.
The group's rather long winded document focuses on the nature of the UK's recently announced General Data Protection Plan (GDPR), which as ORG relays, is intended to "bonfire your rights and remove the protections the law affords to your private life." The bill, which was first announced amid Queen Elizabeth II's speech last month, outlines digital reformation in the aftermath of the UK's split from the European Union. Despite the distancing, the EU will continue to monitor the plans set forth by the UK.
The GDPR also targets rogue cold caller fines with a newfound maximum price point of £17.5 million, a dramatic uptick from the previous number of £500,000. It will also alter key structures within the UK's independent data watchdog, providing more streamlined governance, and allowing businesses to "manage risks effectively themselves" in terms of data protection.
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"In the future, the government intends to move to an opt-out model of consent for cookies placed by websites. This would mean cookies could be set without seeking consent, but the website must give the web user clear information about how to opt out," the Department for Digital Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said.
Cookies are essentially packets of information shared between the user's browser and the website server, allowing the website host to track the user's access to that server and identify the web user in question. Consent for cookies has allowed the web user to deny or opt into the website's data-tracking capabilities, which are oftentimes used for advertising and marketing purposes.
"Cookie banners are annoying," ORG wrote, "but there are good reasons someone should ask your permission before building detailed dossiers about you."
It's important to note that most third-party cookies are being phased out by most web browsers, including Apple and Mozilla, which have ceased utilizing cookies on both Safari and Firefox, as well as Google, which will have all third-party cookies blocked by 2023 on Chrome. While Microsoft's Edge allows for users to block both first and third-party tracking cookies, it hasn't put a major emphasis on blocking them from the outset, like Firefox's recent 'total cookie protection' protocol.
ORG adds in conclusion, "At a time when personal data can be leveraged to do all sort of wrong things, depicting data protection as a burden is wrong, irresponsible and negligent."
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