User Consent Needed to Store Cookies, EU High Court Rules
Website users must give specific consent to storage of their cookies, the European Court of Justice ruled Tuesday. The decision arose from a challenge by the Federation of German Consumer Organizations to a pre-ticked checkbox, used by Planet49 in connection…
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with online promotional games, by which users looking to participate consented to such storage. The cookies were used to collect information to advertise Planet49's partner products. ECJ ruled that under previous EU privacy law and the current general data protection regulation, consent required isn't valid if storage of information or access to information already stored in a user's terminal equipment is permitted via a pre-checked box which the user must deselect to refuse consent. That decision isn't affected by whether the information shared or accessed is personal data, because EU law seeks to protect users from any interference with their private life, such as from hidden identifiers and similar devices that enter users' terminals without their knowledge. "Consent or be tracked is not an option," said European Digital Rights Policy Head of Policy Diego Naranjo. EU governments should now move ahead with legislating on the practice and finalize the e-privacy regulation that complements GDPR, he said. Planet49 didn't comment.