Last year, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled in the Planet49 case that the setting of cookies that are not absolutely necessary requires the active consent of the Internet user. According to this ruling, an unchanged, pre-populated selection field for cookies is therefore not permissible.
The subject of the ruling was the question of the conditions under which Internet providers can place cookies on the end devices of their users. In this context, the ECJ stated that effective consent under data protection law in this context also requires active behavior on the part of the person concerned on the Internet. This must also relate specifically to the consent. It is not sufficient, however, to confirm a preselected checkbox by clicking on another button, for example to participate in a competition.
In addition, the ECJ clarified that the website operator must provide the user with clear and comprehensive information so that consent can be effectively given. This includes information on the functional duration of the cookies and whether third parties can gain access to the cookies.
