Active cookie consent now finally mandatory after new ECJ ruling!
On 1 October 2019, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has now explicitly ruled that the use of cookies requires the explicit consent of the user. For website operators, this means that from now on they will no longer be allowed to use cookies if their users have not expressly agreed to them beforehand.
Following an action brought by the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (vzbv) against the company planet49, which collected data for third-party advertising purposes in the context of sweepstakes, the ECJ has now ruled that passive consent (e.g. through the mere acceptance of certain default settings) is not sufficient, but that the user must actively opt in to the use of cookies by ticking a corresponding response box.
The use of “strictly necessary” cookies alone does not require the consent of users. Although there are no fixed criteria for such requirements, it can be assumed that these include, for example, shopping cart cookies, login status or language selection options.
Important: The decision only mentions cookies. However, this includes all measures with which data can be stored on or read from users’ devices.
At present, corresponding consents are obtained with so-called “cookie banners” or as part of a registration. Consent must now be necessary and explicit. According to the ECJ, so-called opt-out solutions are not permissible, where cookies are already activated when the user enters a website, unless the user deactivates them.
If we can also support you in this, we look forward to your inquiry.
Supplemental Note (11/29/2019).
Tightening of the data protection regulation: Please adapt cookie confirmation!
The European Court of Justice has ruled that from 1 October 2019, consent to a cookie confirmation (or a single button to click) that is already ticked in advance will no longer be permitted. Such an uncomplicated and less complex standard solution can also be found on websites that we have designed or co-designed to date. Until the time of the Luxembourg decision, this was common practice – we ourselves also used such a solution on our own website. Due to the new regulation, we would ask you to adjust this. Here is the corresponding link with the relevant detailed information: https://datenschutz-generator.de/eugh-cookie-einwilligung-banner-detailinformationen-pflicht
Curious now?
Our contact person will be pleased to help you:
Matthias Brinkmann
+49 (0)911 / 47 49 49 49
brinkmann@twobe.de
