Prohibition laws have always had
positive intentions with
negative consequences. The most famous ones, of course, come from romanticized American films. But alcohol bans have been introduced in
many countries at various times.
None have truly lasted. Except in some Muslim countries, where alcohol is still served discreetly, in hidden corners, and is therefore much more expensive. Prohibition fuels black market trade and organized crime.
The negative consequences of cookie prohibition in marketing
The same will inevitably happen with the prohibition of cookies. A well-intentioned law designed to improve the privacy of ordinary citizens will only lead to a boom in black market trading and organized crime. Why?
1. Google will no longer separate the wheat from the chaff
Over the past two years, Google successfully filtered out poor-quality content. Based on site traffic and social sharing, the algorithm could assess the actual value of web pages for users. Soon, it will no longer be able to do this reliably. As a result, so-called black hat techniques for manipulating rankings will become effective again, leading users to sites that are often far from useful.
2. Users will assume they're safe
And will happily click ''Do not allow cookies''. On reputable sites, these buttons will likely work as intended. But on malicious or deceptive websites, the same button might do the opposite - breach your privacy. How?
With one click, your webcam could take a photo. Of you. And it doesn't matter what the button says. By clicking ''Do not allow cookies'', you may unknowingly activate a process that leads to that exact outcome. Your webcam takes a photo and a blackmail scheme begins, possibly ending with your wallet emptied.
No more data sales in marketing?
Slovenia's Information Commissioner seems most concerned that ''allegedly, some American companies are selling your personal data.'' There are indeed cases under FBI investigation. For instance, Company X allegedly sold lists of 1000 cancer patients for a set price.
The article Ms. Nataša directed to her followers to (on a platform that itself sells user data) describes alleged situations that are already under investigation by the relevant authorities.
But will cookie prohibition solve these problems? Absolutely not. Because the companies involved will find other ways to get these lists. And for the companies that buy them, such lists will always be appealing.
More importantly, these lists are not created using cookies. And they're not solely by Google or Facebook. These lists come from user ignorance, when people enter personal data into forms from unknown companies.
Positive Effects of prohibition in marketing
Every coin has two sides. Prohibition does, to some extent, raise user awareness that the internet isn't truly safe (and that it contains cookies). Just like alcohol. Moderation and common sense are the right path.
But unfortunatley, this seems to be the only genuinely positive outcome of prohibition we can actually identify. And the question remains, couldn't the same result be achieved through communication efforts instead?
Picture from Nuchonicle