> So, how long until this one also also gets neutered when European governments realize they can't even bring their own websites into compliance with the new law? ;)

I have worked for 2 big tech companies in Europe. And in both, there is a big effort to make sure that they are compliant with the legislation. I see everyone taking it seriously. Why do you think that it is going to fail?

Even the stupid, really really stupid, cookie warning was implemented everywhere. What does this different? (A part of being actually a good law that protects citizens from indiscriminate tracking).

Regarding the cookie warning, I was mostly thinking about this infographic humorously describing the delta between what was originally intended and what was eventually implemented [https://silktide.com/app/uploads/2013/01/Cookie-Law-infograp...]. As well as the ICO back-pedaling from explicit consent to implied consent (https://www.out-law.com/articles/2013/january/ico-to-change-...).

I take it the actual implementation went a bit more smoothly than the infographic suggests?

The Man will often exempt himself.

The provisions are already there, just waiting to be used. National security, secrecy, etc.

They'd have a tough time doing so; this is a Regulation (as opposed to a Directive) which means the legislation is written by the EU and applies in all EU territories automatically without being transcribed into national legislation.

That means in order for it to be changed then the European Commission would have to propose a new law, and the European Parliament and Council of the European Union will have to agree to it. The former doesn't really care about whether national governments can get on with their jobs or not.

Which websites do you have in mind here?