Some French websites have already started saying “Accept advertising trackers or subscribe to the paid plan”. Marmiton started it, some newspapers followed suit, and I don’t believe the French courts have reached a conclusion on legality yet, but clearly some legal experts at those companies are convinced it could work.
towerful@programming.dev 1 year ago
I can understand where the newspapers are coming from. At lot of mobile apps do this, ads vs paid versions.
But an ad companys product is not to the end user, and often their interests are at odds to the end users privacy.
They want to show ads to people where they are most effective. They want to prove they have shown the ads, and they want to prove that the user has been influenced by the ad.
All of this needs ridiculous tracking to support their business model.
It’s the ad companies at fault.
If you decline consent to an ad company, then they should show you generic adverts.
If a website requires ads vs subscription, then accepting data processing consent should not be part of the contract.
So, as long as the websites give you the option to decline data processing from the ad company without affecting your ability to use the website, then it’s fine.