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The EU Commission wants to abolish the constant request from website users for consent via the use of cookies. The responsible EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders told the newspaper "Welt am Sonntag": "For example, the consumer should not be asked again until a year after the last request whether he is willing to accept cookies." The basis is to be a voluntary commitment by the major Internet platforms such as Meta, Apple, Amazon or Tiktok to accept new rules for the use of cookies.
"According to the law, the use of cookies to process personal data cannot take place without the explicit consent of the users. But that doesn't mean that surfing the net should end up being a nuisance," Reyners said. His initiative is intended to "address the growing 'cookie fatigue' among online users, while helping consumers to better understand advertising models and opt for advertising that is less intrusive."
According to the findings of the Brussels-based Commission authority, the constant query as to whether a consumer accepts cookies or not also means that users often give their consent automatically, without knowing what consequences this has for the protection of personal data in individual cases and which profiles can then be created with it.
According to Welt am Sonntag, the aim of the EU Commission is a "cookies pledge", whereby the major Internet platforms voluntarily promise to better inform their users about the small text files and to protect them from intrusive declarations of consent. The hope in Brussels is that after a voluntary commitment by the Internet giants, smaller providers will follow suit. "I am confident that this voluntary initiative can open the doors to new online practices that will also better protect consumer rights," Reyners said.
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