Europe’s cake nightmare is beginning to unravel

Instead of having to click Accept or Decline in a cookie pop-up window for every website you visit in Europe, the European Union is preparing to impose rules that will allow users to set their cookie preferences at the browser level. “People can set their privacy preferences centrally – for example via a browser – and websites must respect them,” the EU says. “This will greatly simplify users’ online experience.”

This major change is part of the new Digital package of proposals To simplify the EU’s digital rules, we will initially see cookie prompts change to a simplified one-click yes or no before the “tech solutions” eventually reach browsers. Websites will be required to respect cookie choices for at least six months, and the EU also wants website owners not to use cookie banners for “non-harmful uses” such as counting website visits, to reduce the amount of pop-ups.

The sheer number of cookie pop-ups across Europe means that people often click on any button to access a website, simply out of inconvenience rather than concern for their privacy. “This is not a real choice that citizens make to protect their phones or computers and choose what happens to their data,” the European Commission says. “Today’s proposal modernizes the Cookie Rules, with the same robust device protections, allowing citizens to determine which cookies are placed on their connected devices (such as phones or computers) and what happens to their data.”

The latest EU proposals will now head to the European Parliament. It will need approval from the EU’s 27 member states in a process that could take some time, but Europe’s cake nightmare looks a big step closer to ending.