> in general you can't just hedge your way past regulations.

Of course you can. The internet is absolutely polluted with cookie banners, including on the EU's own government websites, precisely for the reason to hedge your way past regulations.

Is it malicious compliance? Sure it is. But it's the EU's ill-conceived and misguided laws that have encouraged it.

And it clearly tells you something is run by sociopaths if they "care about your privacy and want to share your data with their 9999 closest friends, family, and partners".