The lesson to companies should be, don't provide a Hobson's choice up front like this. Offer the webpage you meant to offer, and simply don't try to nickel and dime all the data out of your visitors.
I'm not trying to be snarky! It's just that I'm not actually sure I like the direction the web took, and I'm not sure these "content producing companies" are indeed a net positive.
Perhaps forcing a lot of (the more shady) commercial activity off of the web is actually the best thing that could happen. (Though they probably wouldn't leave quietly)
But let them compete without the distortion of (ab)using quite so much Personally Identifying Information, and see if you'd still be happy to!
Europe is playing a dangerous game with the internet right now and I don't think they have enough tech-minded people in power to keep things sane and in check.
*conditions apply: everything you say and do is tracked by a multitude of companies and poorly secured.