I have a related question: how on earth is Der Spiegel's consent box GDPR-compliant? Try accessing the website here:
It gives you two options: 1) consent to tracking and data collection, with a vague promise that you can withraw your consent later; 2) become a paying subscriber.
GDPR says that "When assessing whether consent is freely given, utmost account shall be taken of whether, inter alia, the performance of a contract, including the provision of a service, is conditional on consent to the processing of personal data that is not necessary for the performance of that contract". Shouldn't that mean that forcing consent in order to allow someone to read an article is not consent freely given?