The GDPR requires users to be able to say no, and not lose any functionality except that which absolutely requires this data.

If I refuse tracking for ads, then a newspaper can’t refuse me access to their articles.

>>If I refuse tracking for ads, then a newspaper can’t refuse me access to their articles.

This arbitrarily limits the range of businesses that can exist. For the sake of people who value their privacy having nothing denied to them, it reduces the services available to everyone.

> If I refuse tracking for ads, then a newspaper can’t refuse me access to their articles.

they can. a business does not even need to do business with you. it's not a right that a business needs to service you. and btw. this is german law.

The rules involve "degradation of service", which is related to existing customers not new ones. So if you have a newspaper subscription and you request that they no longer use your data for a purpose, they cannot cancel your subscription or degrade your service (unless it is impossible to provide a service without said data).

they can cancel your subscription. because they can always say it is impossible to provide service without said data.

heck they can even rely on other laws to cancel your service any time they want.

in the next years GDPR will change nearly nothing. except that it will kill some smaller businesses.

GDPR is not strongly enforceable, if people think they have a right to something they still need to go to court.

the only thing which might change is that it will be easier to delete accounts and data (which is a good thing).

> The GDPR requires users to be able to say no

Even better, it requires the use to say “yes”.