The European Commission has undertaken to update its approach to cookies: plans include removing intrusive banners and allowing users to set preferences once (in the browser or OS) instead of clicking on each site.
The European Commission has undertaken to update its approach to cookies: plans include removing intrusive banners and allowing users to set preferences once (in the browser or OS) instead of clicking on each site.
Politico reports on the preparation of the December omnibus package to simplify requirements for digital services. The European Commission has already discussed options with the industry: more exemptions for «strictly necessary» files and statistics, as well as centralized consent management.
EU countries are proposing similar steps. Denmark is suggesting removing banners for technically necessary cookies and «simple statistics», leaving strict requirements for marketing tracking and sharing with third parties. Business is lobbying for the transfer of cookie rules to the GDPR. There is a risk-based approach and, according to the industry (IAB Europe), companies will be able to rely more often on «legitimate interest» rather than universal e-privacy consent.
Digital privacy groups warn that expanding the exemptions could «stretch» analytics and personalization for adtech. European Digital Rights says the focus on banners distracts from the root of the problem — surveillance advertising. They also point out that current regulations already allow cookies for shopping carts or logins, but not for profiling.
The previous attempt (e-Privacy Regulation in 2017) failed and was withdrawn in February 2025. Now the Commission is preparing the Digital Fairness Act, an advertising-oriented bill against manipulative interfaces and unfair personalization, which may be presented next year.
Banners appeared after the 2009 amendments to the ePrivacy Directive: consent is required for all cookies that are not «strictly necessary». This has led to «consent fatigue» and users clicking automatically. GDPR (2018) introduced more flexible grounds for processing and risk assessment; the industry wants to «transport» cookie rules under this framework. Whether the EU Council and the privacy community will support this is an open question.
Previously, dev.ua wrote about how Apple will release a special software update for iPhone 12 owners in the 27 EU countries to reduce radiation levels to levels that meet European standards. The company made the decision after the European Commission supported France’s demand to stop sales of the device and bring it into line with safety standards.
