Hands off my cookies!

Anybody that knows me knows that I LOVE cookies! Chocolate chip, macadamia nut, snicker doodle, you name it, I'm a true cookie monster. 

Besides my guilty pleasure of indulging in delicious delectables, cookies have been on my mind--internet cookies, that is. Cookies have become avenues for targeted advertising, creating a new phenomenon on the World Wide Web. A friend mentioned something about a french coffee press, so I went to Cooking.com to check out the different presses. Next thing I know, I log on to Facebook, and BAM! At the top of my news feed is an ad to "Like" Cooking.com. It's also happened with clothing sites, and several other random sites that pepper my internet experience. I found a way to opt out of this targeted advertising on Facebook, but Gmail and several other sites engage in the same practices.  I understand the economic advantages of targeted advertising, but geez, these blatant violations of privacy are annoyingly imposed on Internet users for capitalistic gains. 

I just want it to stop. Leave my cookies alone.