Many websites have a - huge- part in their cookie wall, called ‘legitimate interest’. I never allow them and i wonder; is this just a loophole to be able to force certain cookies on us anyway?
I can’t imagine it is harmless, but i never hear anyone discussing these type of cookies.
EDIT: Everyone, thank you so much for taking the effort to answer. These replies were very helpful and often quite detailed. I’ve read them all and it certainly gives food for thought. I also read that EU page, which is indeed not really clarifying much.
I agree that we need to do as much as possible to block all these invaders of our privacy, though it is ridiculous that we have to make so much effort to protect ourselves. And i know many people around me, who just let it all happen and are sometimes not even aware of such things as trackers. And honestly, they shouldn’t have to be aware, it is infuriating that these things are either allowed, or those companies taking the - small - risk to get away with it, because most people won’t bother with law suits and what not, certainly not when so many websites have these shady practices…
Again, thank you; i’m glad i asked :-)
Big companies are not to be trusted. That has never changed and probably never will. So yes, this is definitely a loophole that is probably exploited a lot.
And as is so often the case - as annoying as it is - anyone with enough knowledge bypasses all this crap.
In this particular case: an add-on that automatically accepts all cookies and one that automatically deletes all cookies after closing the tab or browser, excluding a defined list of exceptions and specific rules defined therein. I don’t need to mention adblockers and DNS obfuscators; everyone with half a brain uses them anyway. The same applies to mobile browsers. Firefox is currently still one of the last remaining defenders against the Chrome epidemic (it has unfortunately lost in the iPhone world due to technical K.O. ).