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

Court Ruling
Datenschutzbehörde23 April 2026Austria
final
ePrivacy
Court Ruling

An Austrian court found that a news website's cookie banner did not allow users to reject cookies easily and set non-essential cookies without proper consent. This decision is significant because it shows that companies must provide clear options for users regarding their data. Website operators should ensure their cookie banners comply with consent requirements to avoid legal issues.

What happened

A news website's cookie banner lacked a reject option and set cookies without valid user consent.

Who was affected

Website visitors who encountered the misleading cookie banner were affected.

What the authority found

The court ruled that the website violated GDPR by not providing a clear reject option and using dark patterns in its cookie consent banner.

Why this matters

This ruling highlights the need for clear and user-friendly cookie consent mechanisms. Website operators must ensure they comply with consent requirements to protect user privacy and avoid potential legal consequences.

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 AuthorityBVwG
Reviewed AuthorityDSB (Austria)
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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