SA Rossel & Cie – Fine (Belgium, 2022)

Fine
Autorité de Protection des Données16 June 2022Belgium
overturned
Fine

SA Rossel & Cie, a media company, was found to have violated cookie consent rules on its websites. They placed cookies without user consent and had unclear cookie policies. This case serves as a warning for businesses to ensure they follow proper consent practices for cookies.

What happened

The company placed cookies on its websites without obtaining proper consent from users.

Who was affected

Website visitors who were tracked by cookies without their knowledge or consent.

What the authority found

The authority found that SA Rossel & Cie did not comply with GDPR requirements for cookie consent.

Why this matters

This case underscores the importance of clear cookie policies and obtaining user consent. Companies should review their cookie practices to avoid similar issues.

GDPR Articles Cited

AI-verified

Art. 13(GDPR)
Art. 14(GDPR)
Art. 6(1) GDPR
Art. 7(1) GDPR
Art. 12(1) GDPR
View original scraped data
Art. 6(1) a) GDPR
Art. 7(1) GDPR
Art. 12(1) GDPR
Art. 13(GDPR)
Art. 14(GDPR)

Original data from scraper before AI verification against source document.

Decision AuthorityMarket Court
Reviewed AuthorityAPD
Source verified 11 April 2026
amount discrepancy
authority corrected
Full Legal Summary
Detailed

Original fine summary: The Belgian DPA has imposed a fine of EUR 50,000 on the media company SA Rossel & Cie. During its investigation, the DPA found GDPR violations on three websites operated by the company. For instance, the company had placed cookies that were not required without the consent of the website visitors. Also, the company considered visiting other websites as consent for further cookie placement on these pages. In addition, the boxes for the consent of third-party cookies were already pre-ticked. Furthermore, the cookie policy was incomplete and difficult to access for the visitor. Finally, the DPA found that the company was placing new cookies despite users revoking their cookie consent. Update: On February 22th, 2023, the fine has been overturned by the Market Court.

Violations (5)

Pre-ticked Consent Boxes
high

Cookie consent checkboxes are pre-selected by default, violating the requirement for active, affirmative consent.

Art. 4(11) GDPR

Cookies Placed Before Consent
critical

Non-essential cookies (tracking, advertising) are placed on the user's device before obtaining valid consent.

Art. 6(1) GDPR

Cookies Persist After Rejection
critical

Tracking cookies remain active or are re-placed even after the user explicitly rejects them.

Art. 6(1) GDPR

Third-Party Cookies Without Consent
critical

Third-party tracking cookies or scripts are loaded without obtaining prior user consent.

Art. 13, 14 GDPR

Unclear Cookie Information
high

The cookie banner or cookie policy provides vague, incomplete, or unclear information about what cookies are used and why.

Art. 12, 13 GDPR

Related Enforcement Actions (0)

No other enforcement actions found for SA Rossel & Cie in BE

This is the only recorded action for this entity in this jurisdiction.

Details

Fine Date

16 June 2022

Authority

Autorité de Protection des Données

Enforcement Tracker ID

ETid-1233

About this data

Data: CMS GDPR Enforcement Tracker
Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
AI-verified and classified
Cookie relevance: 100%

Cite as: Cookie Fines. SA Rossel & Cie - Belgium (2022). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu

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