In early October 2023, the EU Commission asked the EDPB to review a “cookie pledge initiative” prepared by the Commission, being an “initiative to gather stakeholders and promote discussions and exchanges of views on the use of cookies and any other systems used for tracking users’ online navigation.” The pledge principles are voluntary and have not yet been finalised, but include:
- removing information about necessary cookies in requests for cookie consent
- explaining up front where content is financed by an advertiser
- providing the user with options for less privacy intrusive advertising or a paid for alternative
- ways of allowing users to accept some types of tracking without needing to accept cookies on a granular basis
- ensuring refusal to accept cookies is stored by websites (many websites ask for consent each time the user returns if they initially refuse cookies)
- the ability to accept/reject certain types of cookies across platforms
Whilst the EDPB welcomes the move, it is keen to state that adherence to the pledges does not equate to compliance with the GDPR and did identify several areas in which the pledges might conflict with the GDPR standards, including in relation to transparency and consent requirements.
The full response can be found here.