Sites load about three times more high-risk trackers for US visitors than for EU visitors

A test of 200 popular websites, run on the same day from servers in Virginia and Frankfurt, found that US visitors triggered far more high-risk tracking requests and third-party cookies before any consent. On average, the Virginia visit saw about 12.6 high-risk tracking requests against 3.8 from Frankfurt, and 13.2 third-party cookies against 3.1. Cookie banners also varied by location, with 21 sites showing a banner only to the Frankfurt visitor. The difference is likely due to consent tools that adjust behaviour based on the visitor's country, since EU and UK rules generally require opt-in while most US rules are opt-out. The findings suggest that website teams testing from a single location may miss what visitors in other markets actually experience.
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