Court case W171 2305420-1 – Court Ruling (Austria, 2026)

Court Ruling
Datenschutzbehörde23 April 2026Austria
final
ePrivacy
Court Ruling

An Austrian court ruled that a news website's cookie banner was misleading and did not allow users to reject cookies easily. This matters because it shows that websites must be clear and honest about how they use cookies. Companies need to ensure their cookie consent practices are straightforward and comply with the law.

What happened

The court found that the news website's cookie banner did not provide a reject option and set non-essential cookies without valid consent.

Who was affected

Website visitors who encountered the misleading cookie banner and had their non-essential cookies set without proper consent were affected.

What the authority found

The court decided that the website violated GDPR's Article 17 by failing to provide a clear reject option and using misleading practices regarding cookie consent.

Why this matters

This ruling emphasizes the importance of transparent cookie consent mechanisms for all websites. Companies should review their cookie banners to ensure they comply with legal requirements and do not mislead users.

GDPR Articles Cited

AI-verified

Art. 17(GDPR)
View original scraped data
Art. 17(GDPR)

Original data from scraper before AI verification against source document.

Decision AuthorityCourt case W171 2305420-1
Reviewed AuthorityDSB
Source verified 1 June 2026
authority corrected
date discrepancy
Full Legal Summary
Detailed

The news website's cookie banner lacked a reject option on the first layer, used dark patterns, and set non-essential cookies without valid consent.

Outcome

Court Ruling

A ruling by a national court on a data-protection matter.

Violations (3)

No Reject Button
critical

Cookie banner does not provide a clear reject/refuse all button at the same level as the accept button.

Art. 7 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

Misleading Banner Messaging
critical

The cookie banner uses misleading language to trick or pressure users into accepting cookies (dark patterns).

Art. 7 GDPR

Related Cases (0)

No other cases found for Court case W171 2305420-1 in AT

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

Similar Cases

Enforcement actions with similar violations

Details

Ruling Date

23 April 2026

Authority

Datenschutzbehörde

About this data

Data: GDPRhub (noyb.eu)
Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
AI-verified and classified
Cookie relevance: 100%

Cite as: Cookie Fines. Court case W171 2305420-1 - Austria (2026). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu

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