A judgement from Hanover provides clarity when it comes to cookie banners: from now on, websites must offer a clear option to reject all unnecessary cookies at first glance. A simple ‘Accept all’ without an equivalent ‘Reject all’ is no longer sufficient - so ruled the administrative court after examining a media portal that deliberately placed the rejection hidden behind settings.
The judges made it clear that anyone who tempts users to give their consent prematurely by making refusal appear more complicated is not acting in compliance with data protection regulations. Terms such as ‘optimal user experience’ were also criticised as misleading - the voluntary nature of consent is not guaranteed in this way. Consent must be informed, unambiguous and voluntary - even at the first level of the banner.
Data protectionists see the judgement as an important signal to operators: No more psychological manipulation, let's have real choices. Cookie banners should no longer force consent, but instead genuinely protect privacy.
Source: www.golem.de