Hi, this is Linda from Portland, Oregon.

I turned to Marketplace to hear the real reasons for what's happening in the economy,

to hear what's happening to real people across the country mean and how to interpret them.

Marketplace is educational with a sense of humor.

Join me by making a gift to marketplace today

at marketplace.org slash donate. Before we go on, would you mind accepting our cookie policy real quick?

From American public media, this is Marketplace Tech.

I'm Lily Dramale. American Public Media, this is Marketplace Tech.

I'm Lily Jammale. If you use the internet, you have no doubt been asked to consent to cookies. Companies tell us

they're there to enhance the user experience and cookies the tiny files that website send to our devices,

do a lot.

They remember our log in information, but also track things like what we're reading and

buying. Trying to avoid cookies can feel kind of pointless,

that's called consent fatigue.

Even though laws like the GDPR in Europe

and the California Consumer Privacy Act or CCPA aimed to change that.

According to Pew, most Americans are concerned about how their data is being used

and acknowledge they don't really understand what companies do with it.

We asked Matt Schwartz, policy analyst for consumer reports, for more on how we got here.

In my everyday life, I do often hear a similar sentiment that people are

concerned about what companies do with their data. At the same time they kind of

feel like the cats out of the bag and that companies already know everything about them.

...