30 years ago, Lou Montulli set out to solve a fundamental problem with the internet, and accidentally created an entirely different one. On today's show, how the cookie went from an obscure piece of code designed to protect anonymity, to an online advertiser's dream, to a privacy advocate's nightmare. Subscribe to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

In 2019, a group of librarians (quietly) stormed the offices of a major publisher, Macmillan, to protest a controversial policy on e-books. On this show, how a tiny change - a book on a screen - threw an industry into war with itself. Subscribe to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoneya Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy