The Illusion of “Consent”

Websites love their little cookie banners. “By clicking accept, you agree…” — as if anyone reads that garbage. Let’s be real: it’s not “consent,” it’s coercion. You either agree or the site breaks. That’s not a choice, that’s a hostage situation.

And regulators lap it up. GDPR banners everywhere, and somehow the tracking is still happening. Companies found the loophole: just bury the “reject” button, make it ten clicks deep, and most people won’t bother. Problem solved.

The average user thinks clicking “accept” means they’re safe. Nope. It means they just signed away more data than they’ll ever understand.

Consent in this ecosystem is a joke. Real consent would be opt-in by default. But that doesn’t make money, so here we are — drowning in dark patterns and fake transparency.

If you want actual control, your best bet is still the nuclear option: blockers, self-hosted tools, and a healthy dose of distrust.