The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), Britain's privacy regulator, has asked the privacy regulators of other G7 countries to cooperate in modifying current cookie notifications.
According to British Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham, cookie notifications are not ideal for businesses and other organizations. They are costly and create a poor user experience.
Many people now automatically choose "accept" when they see a cookie notification. This way, they have no meaningful control over their personal data. "I often hear from people that they are tired of all these cookie notifications. That fatigue causes people to give away more personal data than they would like," Denham states.
A better alternative is to let users indicate their preferences through their browser, other applications or their device. "This ensures that people's privacy preferences are respected and limits the use of personal data, while improving users' browsing experience and eliminating friction for businesses," the ICO explains.
This approach is already technically possible, according to the ICO, and complies with existing data protection laws. The G7 authorities could encourage tech companies and standards organizations to further develop and deploy privacy-oriented solutions.
