On 4 May 2020, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) adopted an updated set of guidelines on consent (Guidelines) under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). These updates were made to the original guidelines published by the Article 29 Working Party on 10 April 2018, which the EDPB endorsed at its first plenary meeting on 25 May 2018.

As a reminder, when a controller relies on consent as its lawful basis for processing personal data, or is required to obtain consent prior to the use of cookies, such consent must be freely given, specific, informed and an unambiguous indication of an individual’s wishes, in order to be valid. Although the original guidelines provided an in-depth analysis of each of these concepts, the EDPB felt that two specific areas required further clarification:

  • The validity of an individual’s consent to the use of cookies when access to a website’s service or functionality is conditioned on that individual giving such consent (i.e., the use of a ‘cookie wall’)
  • The validity of an individual’s consent to the use of cookies when such consent is given by the individual by scrolling through a website

Consequently, the Guidelines now include updates to the sections entitled “Conditionality” and “Unambiguous indication of wishes”, which clarify these areas.Continue Reading EDPB updates consent guidance to clarify its position on consent to the use of cookies