AS Watson (Health & Beauty Continental Europe) B.V. – €600,000 Fine (Netherlands, 2024)
A.S. Watson (Health & Beauty Continental Europe) B.V. was fined for placing tracking cookies on its website before getting user consent. This is important because it reinforces the need for businesses to obtain clear consent from users before tracking their online behavior. Companies should improve their cookie consent processes to avoid similar penalties.
What happened
A.S. Watson placed tracking cookies on its website without obtaining proper consent from users.
Who was affected
Visitors to Kruidvat.nl and other websites operated by A.S. Watson who were tracked without their consent.
What the authority found
The authority ruled that A.S. Watson's cookie practices violated GDPR by not securing valid consent before tracking users.
Why this matters
This ruling emphasizes that companies must prioritize user consent for tracking cookies. Businesses should audit their cookie consent practices to ensure compliance.
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AS Watson placed tracking cookies before obtaining consent, used pre-ticked boxes for cookie acceptance, and made rejecting cookies more difficult than accepting them.
Violations (4)
Cookie banner does not provide a clear reject/refuse all button at the same level as the accept button.
Art. 7 GDPR
Refusing cookies requires more clicks or steps than accepting them, or the reject option is less visually prominent.
Art. 7 GDPR
Cookie consent checkboxes are pre-selected by default, violating the requirement for active, affirmative consent.
Art. 4(11) GDPR
Non-essential cookies (tracking, advertising) are placed on the user's device before obtaining valid consent.
Art. 6(1) GDPR
Related Enforcement Actions (0)
No other enforcement actions found for AS Watson (Health & Beauty Continental Europe) B.V. in NL
This is the only recorded action for this entity in this jurisdiction.
Similar Cases
Enforcement actions with similar violations
Details
Fine Date
2 May 2024
Authority
Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens
Fine Amount
€600,000
About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. AS Watson (Health & Beauty Continental Europe) B.V. - Netherlands (2024). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
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