It feels like the little disclaimer on every webpage asking the user to accept or refuse -if that is even possible- the “cookies” was a snowball effect for the surge of multiple questionings and misunderstandings concerning the data protection of us internet users. From the start, the simple but unclear term raised many doubts about what it meant as little information was added to these disclaimers before more regulations became essential. It’s been a while since the pop-up announcements started appearing everywhere, and I am quite confident that, like me, some people are still not entirely sure what it means to click on the “accept all cookies” button time after time.
As many probably know, web cookies are blocks of data that allow the web servers to store information about the user’s visit to the site and, according to Google policies, “help that website remember information about your visit which can both make it easier to visit the site again and make the site more useful to you.” I find it quite remarkable that the first search results approach the user directly, not mentioning what the cookies do for the website and how it might be more useful for them than for “you.” This thought led me to perform a little investigation on the “select your cookies” banners before every site in the internet, which mainly consists of actually reading it for the first time. Here is what I found:
Mostly powered by Onetrust, a privacy and security software provider that came to exist due to the increase in laws and regulations, this is the menu the user is presented. All seems pretty harmless but for some reason, I get this feeling that it seems this way because of how many times I have clicked accept all cookies; I have gotten use to these terms just by looking at them. Aside from the technical cookies, which appear to be strictly related to the functioning of the website per se, the user has the “choice”, there are also preference, analysis, and advertising cookies. The first one is in charge of “remembering information so that you access the service with certain characteristics that can differentiate your experience from that of other users”. The second one, as its name says, measures the impact of advertisements through the behavior of users and, last but definitely not least, advertisement cookies allow “advertisements for our products” but also third-party products. That is why a random website you visit at midnight searching for wool scarves also knows that you want to go to the Bahamas.
After the very basic introduction to the functioning of cookies, my short investigation does not throw incredibly unexpected or shocking results. It just makes me wonder why there is the tendency to quickly click accept all the time without questioning it further. It also makes me wonder if these small acts of a simple unconscious click have also led -or at least contributed- to our loss of agency regarding the bigger questions -AI, Machine learning, dozens of satellites being launched into the sky- all of which we, as of today, have no word in its extent.
I also used to click away to “accept all” just to get rid of those annoying pop-up windows on a website. It is something that needs to be thought about by the individual because you are volunteering to give out some of your information (as harmless as it may seem). It can indeed improve your internet experience with more personalized recommendations and ads, but this is at the price of privacy. I personally feel kind of disgusted when I see something I searched or looked up to get recommended to me over and over. These nudges does not feel like making my life easier, but it is definitely make ad-givers or business owners’ life easier. The use of cookies in data analysis is making people susceptible to the influence of companies not just in an economic sense but also in many other fields, just like the Facebook Cambridge Analytica data scandal.
Hi Sabina!
A few weeks ago in one of the workshop groups, the same topic was raised and it was time I realised I was unconsciously accepting all the cookies policies, without even trying to question their usage. From that moment I started to be more aware, however, when I am in a rush I still tend to click the button ‘accept all’. I have a feeling I am not the only person who used to do that, and although the disclaimer explaining the reason they are asking us for consent is provided, I believe that topics about users’ privacy should be raised more often, and more loudly to make people fully aware of when they are providing any sorts of information. Whether it is harmful or not we should always be somewhere conscious of what we agree to.