Facebook's cookie consent logic revealed

Description

This image is a screenshot of a tweet from user Mads Brodt. The tweet humorously claims to have found a piece of code in the Facebook codebase. The code snippet shows an if-else statement that checks if a user has accepted cookies. If `cookies.accepted()` is true, it calls a `TrackUser()` function. If it's false, it calls a `TrackUserAnyway()` function. The visual is a clean, dark-themed code editor window with syntax highlighting. This meme is a cynical take on corporate data privacy practices, suggesting that user consent is merely an illusion. For senior developers, it's a relatable joke about 'dark patterns' in software design where user choices are presented but the outcome is the same, reflecting a deep-seated skepticism towards how large tech companies handle user data and comply with regulations like GDPR

Common Tags

DataPrivacy Cookies PrivacyConcerns FacebookPlatform SocialMedia TechCulture TechHumor DeveloperHumor TechSatire Gdpr

Comments

Anonymous ★ Top Pick That's not a bug, it's a feature: 'eventual consistency' with the marketing department's requirements

Anonymous ★ Top Pick

That's not a bug, it's a feature: 'eventual consistency' with the marketing department's requirements
Anonymous

Facebook’s idea of a consent flow: two Strategy classes - AcceptCookie and DeclineCookie - both forwarding to Panopticon.track(); SOLID 1, GDPR 0
Anonymous

This is the software equivalent of asking 'May I come in?' while already sitting on your couch eating your snacks - except instead of snacks, it's your behavioral data, and instead of a couch, it's a multi-billion dollar ad targeting infrastructure that knows you better than your therapist
Anonymous

Ah yes, the classic 'Schrödinger's Consent' pattern - where user privacy exists in a superposition of respected and violated states until observed by regulators, at which point it collapses into a $5 billion FTC fine. The real engineering challenge here isn't the tracking implementation; it's architecting the legal team's response pipeline to scale with your disregard for GDPR
Anonymous

Enterprise GDPR playbook: rename TrackUserAnyway() to legitimateInterest(), put it behind ConsentService, and pass the audit in release notes
Anonymous

The empty if branch: because in ad tech, consent is just a compliance speed bump on the road to infinite tracking
Anonymous

When OKRs outrank GDPR, the else clause turns into TrackUserAnyway() - great branch coverage, questionable governance
Deleted Account 5y

Bad meme
1. @Vitalis11 5y
  
  Realistic*
  
  Deleted Account 5y
  
  No
@sylfn 5y

いぎあり。Just call TrackUser
@UQuark 5y

Pretty readable to me
@anchorwave 5y

https://twitter.com/jordwalke/status/1355681285717385217
@mvolfik 5y

top tier comedy was achieved
@suvileavemealone 5y

😂