alt Hacker NewsIt could have been "respect DNT or go directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200". Instead we got American-style legalistic consentualism.
My experience as a web developer since 1995 or so is I was able to push back on pop-ups, pop-overs and stuff like that as being user hostile. Than the GDPR breaks the dam, it normalizes the idea of interrupting the user over bullshit, it is not "annoying" anymore, now it is "required" or "socially positive" and now you visit some blog and there are three different popups asking for your email.
The GDPR required an action by those performing intrusive tracking. Popups was one possible action.
Less intrusive tracking is an option! Opt-in tracking is an option! Not tracking is an option! I don't track anything on my personal sites, and I push back on anything at work that'd make me add a banner as hard as I possibly can.