Squeezemind S.r.l. – Violation Found (Italy, 2025)
Squeezemind S.r.l. faced scrutiny for misleading cookie banners on its website. The Italian data protection authority found that the company did not properly inform users about cookie usage. This case shows the importance of clear communication about data practices to avoid confusion and potential violations.
What happened
The Italian data protection authority found that Squeezemind's cookie banner misled users by suggesting it used advertising cookies when it did not.
Who was affected
Website visitors who interacted with Squeezemind's cookie banner were affected by the misleading information.
What the authority found
The authority concluded that Squeezemind violated GDPR rules by not providing clear and accurate cookie information to users.
Why this matters
This case highlights the need for businesses to ensure their cookie banners are accurate and transparent. Companies should regularly review their cookie policies to comply with data protection laws.
View original scraped data
Original imported citations before automated processing; the processing history does not establish independent verification.
Source checks
Secondary-source text retrieved.
Automated check recorded — 11 April 2026.
Processing notes: articles corrected, national law identified.
Retrieved text may be a secondary summary or an announcement. These automated statuses do not establish that the original decision was read or that the record received an independent legal review. How we check sources
Cookiemetrix is an online service that analyses the cookies on websites and suggests whether or not they require the consent of the end users. Cookiemetrix is marketed as a tool to aid companies comply with EU data protection law and is available under both a free and a paid subscription. In October 2024 the DPA carried out an ex-officio investigation against Squeezemind s.r.l. - the controller and owner or Cookiemetrix. The DPA investigated both the functioning of Cookiemetrix and the use of cookies on the controller’s website. = The controller’s website displayed a cookie banner which allowed users to accept “advertisement cookies” or to browse the website with only strictly necessary cookies. This preference was stored in a cookie - a common practice for many websites. The investigation found that despite the wording of the cookie banner, the website never used advertising cookies. In this regard, the controller explained that it removed advertising cookies from its website years before the investigation took place, but forgot to change or deactivate the cookie banner. = Cookiemetrix analysed and labelled cookies in several steps. First, Cookiemetrix crawled a web page, listed all the cookies that the page attempt to write, and assessed which of those cookies were conditional on the user's consentTo this end, Cookiemetrix would actually crawl each page twice. In one crawl, Cookiemetrix would simulate consenting to any cookie pop-ups on the page; in the other, it would simulate rejecting consent. By comparing the results, Cookiemetrix learned not only what cookies were written but also which cookies were conditional on the user's consent.. Then, Cookiemetrix matched these cookies against an open-source library of known cookies and labelled each cookie as “essential” (i.e.: requiring consent under the law) or “non-essential” (i.e.: when the cookies fell under one of the exemptions of the ePrivacy Directive) according to the library. Finally, Cookiemetrix provided
Outcome
Violation Found
The DPA found a violation but did not impose a fine.
Violations (3)
Third-party tracking cookies or scripts are loaded without obtaining prior user consent.
Art. 13, 14 GDPR
The cookie banner or cookie policy provides vague, incomplete, or unclear information about what cookies are used and why.
Art. 12, 13 GDPR
The cookie banner uses misleading language to trick or pressure users into accepting cookies (dark patterns).
Art. 7 GDPR
Related Enforcement Actions (0)
No other enforcement actions found for Squeezemind S.r.l. in IT
This is the only recorded action for this entity in this jurisdiction.
Similar Cases
Enforcement actions with similar violations
Details
Decision Date
9 October 2025
Authority
Garante per la protezione dei dati personali
GDPRhub ID
gdprhub-9635About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. Squeezemind S.r.l. - Italy (2025). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
Last updated: