DGKV data protection team notes that European Commission’s consumer protection office launched an initiative to move away from repetitive cookie banners.

Cookies are designed to give consumers insight into, and control over, how and when a website records information about them. The European Commission’s consumer protection office (the “EC CPO”) has recognized the occurrence of the so-called “cookie fatigue” resulting from the tendency of not-designing cookie banners in a consumer-friendly way thus encumbering the opportunity to truly express consent to the data processing.

In this context, during the European Consumer Summit on 28 March 2023, the EC CPO announced the launch of a voluntary initiative to move away from cookie banners that do not effectively supply understandable information about the data management and collection as well as the overall privacy implications of the cookie choices. The initiative is expected to be the prelude to a legislative proposal.

The EC CPO plans to launch a reflection with key stakeholders, including companies, consumer and trade organizations, to find out how to reach simplicity of the cookie choices management and clarification on data collection, usage, and privacy implications. This will take a form of a voluntary pledge. The roundtable discussions are scheduled to begin towards the end of April.

The cookies topic comes again in focus after May 2020 when the European Data Protection Board adopted and released Guidelines 05/2020 on consent under the GDPR updating the Article 29 Working Party Guidelines from 2018. The 2020 Guidelines provide clarifications, specifically regarding the validity of consent provided by the data subject when interacting with cookie banners outlining the general obligation of data controllers under the GDPR to ensure that the consent is freely given, specific, informed, and made upon an unambiguous indication of the data subject’s agreement to the processing of personal data. Cookie banners that do not supply information on the data processing and privacy, or do not do it in an understandable or clear manner, are noncompliant and create risks of fines and other administrative sanctions for the data controllers using such cookies.

DGKV data protection team will keep an eye on the new cookie-related initiative of EC CPO and will follow up with any developments in this relation.

You can read the Guidelines 05/2020 on consent under the GDPR here: