The bill signed Wednesday would require them to set up an easy-to-find mechanism that lets Californians opt-out with the push of a button, instead of having to do so repeatedly when visiting individual websites. “These signals are going to be available to millions more people and it's going to be much easier for them to opt out,” said Matt Schwartz, a policy analyst at Consumer Reports.
https://therecord.media/california-signs-law-opt-out-browsers
A 2009 European law called the e-Privacy Directive required websites to get consent before loading cookies. The European Commission is now considering rolling back the law, Politico reports. The move is part of a larger initiative to remove red tape in technology regulation. A committee met to discuss alternatives last week, which could include allowing users to set their cookie preferences once, perhaps in the browser settings, rather than each time they visit a website.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/is-the-cookie-about-to-crumble-eu-considers-axing-pesky-consent-banners
After 4 years of promising to phase out third-party cookies, Google wants to give users a choice instead. "Instead of deprecating third-party cookies, we would introduce a new experience in Chrome that lets people make an informed choice that applies across their web browsing," writes Google VP Anthony Chavez in a blog post Monday. "They’d be able to adjust that choice at any time."
https://www.pcmag.com/news/google-wont-ditch-third-party-cookies-in-chrome-after-all