The EDPB approves the European Commision's Cookie Pledge Initiative
During its plenary session held on the 12th and 13th of December 2023, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) adopted a letter in response to voluntary commitment, the so-called “cookie pledge”, introduced by the European Commission. The EDPB expressed its appreciation for the Commission’s initiative, which aims to protect the essential rights and freedoms of web users.
The cookie pledge initiative developed by the European Commission is a voluntary commitment by companies to simplify the management of cookies and personalized advertising choices made by users. This initiative was established due to growing concerns surrounding the “cookie fatigue” phenomenon.
To this effect, the European Commission has authored a draft document that expounds the principles of a proposed initiative, setting out the EDPB’s principles and opinion on the conformity of the principles with the GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive. Moreover, the EDPB has expressed its support for the initiative, albeit with the caveat that an organization’s adherence to the principles cannot be taken as a guarantee of conformity with the GDPR or the ePrivacy Directive, and consequently, the data protection authorities retain their competence to exercise their powers in cases where necessary.
To summarize, the principles suggested by the European Commission aim to provide clear information regarding the handling of users’ data and the possible outcomes of their consent. Additionally, it is proposed that if a user declines to give consent, it will not be requested again for a period of one year.
The European Commission and other stakeholders, including consumer and trade associations, will collaborate to further develop the principles in light of the EDPB’s feedback, within the aim to present the final version at the Consumer Summit in April 2024.
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