https://www.theverge.com/2022/4/21/23035289/google-reject-all-cookie-button-eu-privacy-data-laws

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Filed under:

  * Google
  * Policy
  * US & World

Google gives Europe a 'reject all' button for tracking cookies after
fines from watchdogs

New, 17 comments

Well-balanced menus make rejection as easy as acceptance

By James Vincent Apr 21, 2022, 10:26am EDT

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[acastro_18] Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Google is introducing new options to reject tracking cookies in
Europe after its existing dialog boxes were found to be in violation
of EU data laws.

Earlier this year, France's data protection agency CNIL fined Google
EUR150 million ($170 million) for deploying confusing language in
cookie banners. Previously, Google allowed users to accept all
tracking cookies with a single click, but forced people to click
through various menus to reject them all. This asymmetry was
unlawful, said CNIL, steering users into accepting cookies to the
ultimate benefit of Google's advertising business.

To remedy this, Google's new cookie banners give clear, balanced
choices: "reject all," "accept all," or "more options" (to exercise
more granular control). The new menu will appear on Google Search and
YouTube if users are not signed in to an account. (If you are signed
in, you can adjust tracking options through Google's data and privacy
menu.)

[pasted_ima] The new cookie banner gives users the option to reject
all tracking cookies with a single click. Image: Google

"We've kicked off the launch in France and will be extending this
experience across the rest of the European Economic Area, the UK and
Switzerland," writes Google product manager Sammit Adhya in a blog
post announcing the changes. "Before long, users in the region will
have a new cookie choice -- one that can be accepted or rejected with
a single click."

The use of cookie banners in general remains a confusing and
frustrating experience for most internet users. Giving people the
option to reject or accept cookies was supposed to offer greater
control over users' data, but, as the Google example shows, this can
depend on how these options are implemented. The European Center for
Digital Rights (noyb), which campaigns for proper cookie menus, says
that 90 percent of users click to accept all cookies, but only 3
percent actually want them. Changes like those implemented by Google
are small, certainly, but could help shift this balance.

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