This is everywhere. Here in Eastern Europe they go as far as giving away your mobile phone number when you browse (or at least encoded token for spamming you via operator). I was able to opt out though.
What? Where exactly in Eastern Europe? I'm deeply concerned by this.
In Germany, this would be illegal without a very explicit opt-in. While the German data protection laws are stricter than the EU ones, this still surprises me to hear.
What are the chances that you accidentally "consented" in one of the myriad cookie popups clicked away each day?
None that would be lawfully binding. For stuff like this content must not be "surprising" or its void and courts interpret this very strictly.
Do you have any source for this that I could look at?