Transparent cookie policy shows the privacy madness in Ad-tech

I went to Reuters UK website and, in clicking on their cookie policy, I was presented with this screen. See their advertising guidelines and click on the Cookie Consent button in the bottom right hand corner.

Well done to Reuters for demonstrating the transparency of how all the cookies on their site are being used.

But what a hideous user experience / privacy experience!

I clicked on the two 'All off' buttons to stop cookies being fired (hopefully??) and data being collected about me and my browsing habits (even more hopefully???). This is the next screen - the battle isn't over yet!!

I closed my browser window and got my news from another source - like the ad-free BBC.

Having worked in Ad-tech for the last 2 years, I've been on publishers' side of the fence on this issue (indeed Reuters was a customer of my previous employer, Grapeshot), but this is a truly frightening user experience for the average internet user. No wonder ad-blocking is rising at such a rate (See Wikipedia entry for Ad Blocking)

I'd be fascinated to see how many people actually manage their cookies using this screen or how many close down the page and go elsewhere - as I did!