Rules for Collecting Cookie Consent: Per-country Comparison

Disclaimer: Please note that these tables summarise the most recent guidelines from EU national authorities. They may evolve over time, depending on future legislative texts, case-law, or guidelines published on the subject.

NOTES:

  • Page or paragraph numbers for each country always refer to the respective document specified underneath the table.
  • To view the additional information, hover over the text within the table cells.


  • Questions UK 🇬🇧 Italy 🇮🇹 Germany 🇩🇪 France 🇫🇷 Spain 🇪🇸 Denmark 🇩🇰 Greece 🇬🇷 Belgium 🇧🇪 Ireland 🇮🇪 Sweden 🇸🇪 Netherlands 🇳🇱 Luxemburg 🇱🇺 Austria 🇦🇹 Switzerland 🇨🇭 EDPB 🇪🇺
    Is consent by scrolling valid? NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO YES NO
    Is consent by continuing navigation valid? NO Likely no, but not specified NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO YES NO
    Are explicit “accept” AND “reject” buttons required to be on the cookie notice? YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES Not specified YES NO YES Not specified YES
    Must accept and reject options be equally conspicuous (equal prominence requirement)? YES YES YES YES YES YES YES Not specified YES Not specified Not specified YES YES Not specified YES
    Is the prior blocking of cookies necessary where consent is required? YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES NO YES
    Are full cookie walls admitted? Unlikely NO NO Possibly NO Possibly NO NO Likely no NO NO NO YES Not specified NO
    Must cookies be listed one by one? NO Not specified NO NO NO NO Not clear Not clear Likely no YES YES Likely no Likely no Not specified
    Must purposes be listed in the first layer of the cookie notice? Not mentioned, but unlikely. Best practice YES YES YES YES YES YES Not specified Not specified YES YES YES Not specified
    Must consent be granular on a per-purpose basis? Per-service but not necessarily per-purpose YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES Not specified (but implied) Not specified (but implied) YES Not specified YES
    Is proof of consent required? YES YES YES YES Not specified (but implied) YES YES YES YES YES YES YES NO Likely yes
    Should withdrawing consent be as simple as giving it? YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES Not specified YES
    Is the use of a consent banner recommended? YES YES YES Not specifically YES Not specifically YES Not specified Not specifically Not specifically YES Best practice Best practice NO YES
    Are strictly necessary cookies exempt from the consent requirement? YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES
    Can GDPR legal bases other than consent (e.g. legitimate interest) apply? NO NO YES NO NO YES NO NO NO NO NO NO NO YES YES
    Do third parties have to be listed and identified? YES YES YES YES YES YES YES Not specified Not completely clear YES YES YES Not specified YES YES
    Is it specified how long the consent to a cookie should last? NO YES YES YES Specified good practice NO YES NO YES YES NO YES Not specified Not specified No duration explicitly stated
    Are pre-ticked boxes allowed? NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO YES NO

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