The Vergecast The case for banning cookie banners
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Apr 7, 2026 
Kate Klonick, a law professor and tech policy writer, makes the case that cookie banners should disappear entirely. She gets into how the web ended up flooded with them and why they became such a mess. Then the conversation turns to Google Maps’ new AI tools, from surprisingly handy trip planning to deeply creepy vibes. It also weighs whether e-ink phones could really make smartphones less distracting.
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Cookie Banners Reveal A Deeper Power Fight
- Kate Klonick frames cookie banners as a power struggle between governments and tech platforms, not just a bad design problem.
- She contrasts the Brussels effect with Europe’s “California effect,” where US tech companies effectively set global product rules through market dominance.
AI Could Finally Force A Cookie Banner Reset
- Kate Klonick thinks the EU may actually revisit cookie banners, partly because agentic AI makes the whole model even less viable.
- She argues banners also waste time and likely energy, then compares them to repeatedly bruising your shins instead of finally replacing a burned-out bulb.
Ask Maps Fits The Way Recreational Maps Users Think
- Ask Maps works because Google Maps already holds huge stores of reviews and place data that AI can summarize into useful, fuzzy recommendations.
- David Pierce says classic search returns the same coffee lists, while Ask Maps can answer combinations like a good breakfast sandwich plus decent coffee.