Entitled "Measuring Web Cookies in Governmental Websites," the paper, which was funded by the European Research Council (ERC), the European Union (EU), and the Spanish government, explains that government websites are basically being used as "a single point of monitoring and tracking for the entire population of a country" using web cookies.

Researchers looked at three different types of websites, including the official governmental websites of "G20" countries around the world; websites of international organizations such as the United Nations; and popular websites used by the public for Fauci Flu tracking and information. They looked at each site's use of cookies and came to the conclusion that upwards of 90 percent of government websites "create cookies of third-party trackers without any consent from users."

"Web cookies have been exploited to collect information about users' online activities and interests," the paper explains.

"Non-session cookies, that are created by trackers and can last for days or months, are widely present even in countries with strict user privacy laws. We also show that the above is a problem for official websites of international organizations and popular websites that inform the public about the COVID-19 pandemic."