Enforcing the restriction through a browser web standard, instead of a popup susceptible to anti-patterns, is a good idea. Sure, you could configure your browser to say "yes to all", but you control the browser. You could also configure it to say "no to all" if that's what you want. It'd be the equivalent of a popup, just automated by you. It's the way I always thought the cookie permissions should have been done. The same way as when a website asks about permissions for notifications, or camera/mic access.

But I don't think this is what the article is talking about. They are not talking about using a web standard or anything like that, they are talking about how the very definition of "personal data" is being changed, and that does not look good.

No, with this to what you say yes or no, you can set it in the browser instead in this Pop-up. All what you don't want get blocked. This way you set it one time in your browser for all pages you visit. instead ov everytime in each page. The result is the same, but without annoying consent nags. With the GDPR all pages are forced by law to ask for your consents, before with this pop-up, and now following the consent settings in the browser. This is the only difference, less nags for the user. With the page permission settings and the adblocker, this crap anyway get blocked. So this consent window in any case is useless.