Canadian columnist Josh Freed has coined a term for the frustrating online experience that plagues internet users across the country: digital Groundhog Day. In his recent piece for the Montreal Gazette, Freed describes the endless cycle of repetitive consent requests that bombard users daily, creating what he calls "digital harassment" by electronic "nudniks."
The Subscription Wall That Never Forgets
Freed begins his morning ritual by encountering the familiar paywall on the CBC News website. The message appears for the 500th consecutive day, despite his repeated attempts to dismiss it. "This content is reserved for subscribers only," it declares, followed by the same subscription pitch he's seen countless times before.
The options presented offer no permanent solution: "Yes" to receiving daily bulletins, "Not today," or "Skip." There's no button declaring "I never want your news bulletin," forcing Freed into the same dance day after day. This experience mirrors what millions of Canadian internet users face across various websites and platforms.
The Browser Battlefield
The digital harassment continues beyond news sites. Firefox asks repeatedly if he wants to make it his main browser, ignoring hundreds of previous "no, thanks" responses. Meanwhile, his primary browser constantly queries whether Google can access his location, despite three years of consistent refusal.
"It's digital harassment by what my grandmother would have called an electronic 'nudnik,'" Freed writes, capturing the essence of these persistent digital nuisances that respect neither user preferences nor previous responses.
The Cookie Conundrum
The most universal experience involves the endless "cookie consent" requests that appear on virtually every website. Canadians mechanically click "I agree to accept cookies" like robots, often without reading the terms. As Freed humorously notes, if he actually ate all the cookies he's accepted online, he'd weigh 5,000 kilograms.
The process typically involves what Freed identifies as two key lies: First, "We value your privacy" - which he sarcastically follows with "HAHAHA!" Second, the requirement to click "Yes, I've read and agreed to all terms and conditions," when in reality, "no one has ever read all the terms or conditions, except the lawyers who wrote them."
The Never-Ending Digital Gauntlet
Even after navigating initial consent hurdles, the interruptions continue. Websites ask to track your location, download their app, or subscribe to newsletters. Freed questions the logic: "Why would I switch to their app when I'm already on their website? That's like going to a store then being followed by a clerk repeatedly chirping: 'Are you sure you don't want to shop at our other store across the street?'"
The situation escalates with security alerts that interrupt the user experience. These often involve complex verification processes, including identifying traffic lights in photos to prove you're human - a task computers can complete in nanoseconds but humans struggle with.
The fundamental problem, according to Freed, is the absence of a simple "never" button. Websites don't offer permanent opt-outs because they don't truly value privacy. What they value is harvesting and selling user data to partners, requiring constant re-engagement to collect fresh consent slices.
Freed's experience, published on November 8, 2025, in the Montreal Gazette, resonates with Canadian internet users who find themselves trapped in these endless digital loops. The solution remains elusive as users continue navigating what feels like an inescapable Groundhog Day of online consent requests.
