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The European Union might be about to fix one of the most annoying things on the internet.
For years, websites have asked visitors to accept cookies when they arrive. Users are often required to do so before they can see any content at all, and navigating the options can mean at least a couple of clicks.
Cookies are a central part of the internet: they allow websites to collect information from visitors and track them both on the specific website as well as more broadly. They can be used to store passwords, for instance, but can also be used for tracking people to show them advertising.
The requirement to approve them each time is the result of European cookie consent rules, passed in 2009, that require websites to have explicit content from users. The rules were intended to protect people’s privacy by allowing them to control how they are tracked around the internet, but have largely come to be seen as a frustration and a disruption that stops people actually seeing the sites they visit.
Now, the European Commission looks set to respond to that frustration with a view to making navigating the internet less disruptive. It is consulting with industry to try and find a new and less onerous way of managing the cookies, according to a report from Politico.
That might include adding more exceptions to the rules, for instance. Previous suggestions have included not requiring the cookies if they are only being used for technical purposes or to collect non-invasive statistics about visitors.
It might also mean allowing internet users to set their preferences once and automatically know what they have decided about cookies. That might mean adding a setting in the browser that allows users to indicate that they are happy to accept cookies on all websites, for instance.
Some in Europe have been looking to fix the irritation of cookie pop-ups for years. In 2017, for instance, the European Commission already tried to get rid of the cookie pop-ups – but it failed to get through.