There are quite a few news websites that deny access to the site unless you agree to being tracked (e.g. [1]). Authorities in EU countries are split on the legality of that -- the Dutch data protection authority explicitly disallows such behavior [2], while German authorities are silently tolerating it [3].
In my opinion, this goes against the spirit and the letter of GDPR, but it seems that they are getting away with it for now. The matter hasn't been discussed by the European Court of Justice yet.
In those cases, as a non-paying user, you essentially have the choice between accepting being tracked, or not viewing the site. IDCAC errs on the side of being able to view the site.
[3] In the case of online raffles, a German court even explicitly allowed forcing users to agree to their data being used for advertising purposes if they want to participate in the raffle. https://openjur.de/u/2185336.html
In my opinion, this goes against the spirit and the letter of GDPR, but it seems that they are getting away with it for now. The matter hasn't been discussed by the European Court of Justice yet.
In those cases, as a non-paying user, you essentially have the choice between accepting being tracked, or not viewing the site. IDCAC errs on the side of being able to view the site.
[1] https://www.zeit.de/
[2] https://autoriteitpersoonsgegevens.nl/nl/nieuws/websites-moe...
[3] In the case of online raffles, a German court even explicitly allowed forcing users to agree to their data being used for advertising purposes if they want to participate in the raffle. https://openjur.de/u/2185336.html