Internet's biggest annoyance: Cookie laws should target browsers, not websites

It already exists. It is called an ad blocker, or content blocker, whatever you want to call it.

And we don't need a law for that, it is already working. We may need a law to protect that freedom, and for most part, it is on that side as we already have rulings saying that ad blocking is not illegal, and enforcement of browser choice, some of them having built-in blockers.

You need to understand that GDPR and consent requirements affect far more than just online ads and ad-related tracking. For example a website is legally required to ask for consent if they want to share your purchase history with data brokers. Collection of this data is unaffected by ad blockers.

As the name says, it's a General Data Protection Regulation. It covers all types of processing from all types of entities, everything from big tech websites to your local yoga instructor who doesn't have any online presence.

Of course we need a law otherwise companies just need to circumvent ad blockers and they act legal.

And media companies like Axel Springer SE already try to make ad blockers illegal.

My comment was in reaction to the article, which suggests that the browser shall act as a "privacy guardian", which I believe is already the case.

It is also kind of ironic that the article suggests a technical solution to a legal problem, arguing that a legal solution doesn't work (consent fatigue, DNT, ...) and then suggests legislating on it.

I wasn't implying that ad blockers are a substitute for GDPR, which goes way beyond cookies and things that can be done at the browser level.