[blueblisters]

The problem is paternalism and assuming the user is too dumb to take control their privacy preferences.

The compliance of the cookie banner regulation has measurable negative externalities - one estimate suggests a EUR 14B/year productivity hit in the EU

Most modern browsers allow you to disable all cookies if you like. You can always use incognito mode if you want to be selective about it.

In an ideal world, the EU could have simply educated their constituents about privacy controls available in their browser.

[dgb23]

GDPR is not a cookie regulation it is a tracking regulation.

[IanCal]

It's broader, it's about users data. For example, you can store my address so you can send the item I ordered to me. You can't, without permission, use that to send me marketing stuff.