1) No, but the tracking needed for targeted ads is also behind a consent wall. I'm just saying that just because other services are also owned by Google, they can not use that data for ads in youtube without permission.

2) I think there is just less revenue available for quality journalism, but that it doesn't really matter because the reach is so much greater. Sites can specialise in topics, not in localities. Like I said that's how I ended up reading the Guardian. I even paid them for a while but the amount they want for adfree is too expensive for me so I just view it with adblockers again. It was 6 euro a month for a while which was ok but now it's 12. Prices keep going up and we get ever less. Some sites now demand money in return for 'fewer' ads, like The Verge! That's pure enshittification.

3) Yeah that's my point. Websites were always doing fine. Even with untracked ads in the past. I don't understand why everything is suddenly so critical. They were able to survive for 20-30 years without having to enshittify. Why now?

4) I don't really know (nor care). I'm definitely not going to pay every site I come across, that's obvious. I'm not going to watch ads either. But I never have for the last 20 years and it's never stopped them before. It's not like adblocking is a new thing, people have been doing it for decades and probably higher numbers than today (considering how difficult it is on mobile). Paywalls are kinda new but most people avoid those too. I think there are just going to be a lot less sites around which is not a bad thing at all to me.