Cookie Consent Fines & Enforcement Actions
Browse European DPA enforcement actions targeting cookie consent and ePrivacy violations. Filter fines, warnings, and orders by country, violation type, and fine amount.
Selected coverage: Europe. Only published cases are included.
79 results · Showing 51–75
RheinMain University of Applied Sciences
Richard Lloyd
Third-Party Cookies Without Consent
Court case HFD:2021:125
Data Privacy Stichting
Third-Party Cookies Without Consent
Proximus N.V.
The claimant Walter Tzvi Soriano and the defendants, including Forensic News LLC
Google LLC
Unclear Cookie Information
Claimant: Bundesverband der Verbraucherzentralen und Verbraucherverbände - Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband e.V. (vzbv)
Pre-ticked Consent Boxes · Reject Harder Than Accept +2
Association des agences de communication
Court case III CZP 78/19
Court case N° 434684
Bundesverband der Verbraucherzentralen und Verbraucherverbände – Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband e. V.
Pre-ticked Consent Boxes
The State of the Netherlands
VKI
La Quadrature du Net
Cookies Placed Before Consent
Google Inc.
Court case C/10/677340 / HA ZA 24-317
Third-Party Cookies Without Consent
Meta Platforms Ireland Limited
Data Subject versus Social Media Platform Operator
Third-Party Cookies Without Consent
Court case 33 Cdo 347/2023
Societe.com
Telekom Deutschland GmbH
Third-Party Cookies Without Consent
Criteo
Cookies Placed Before Consent · Cookies Persist After Rejection
Court case 2 C 133/21
Frequently Asked Questions About Cookie Enforcement
Q:What are the most common cookie consent violations in Europe?
The most common violations include setting cookies before obtaining user consent, using pre-ticked consent boxes, lacking a clear reject button on cookie banners, making it harder to refuse cookies than to accept them, and failing to provide adequate information about cookie purposes. The French CNIL and Italian Garante have been particularly active in enforcing these requirements.
Q:Which European countries issue the most cookie consent fines?
France (CNIL), Italy (Garante), and Spain (AEPD) consistently lead in cookie consent enforcement. France has issued some of the largest fines, including multi-million euro penalties against major tech companies for cookie consent violations under both GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive.
Q:What is the average cookie consent fine in Europe?
Cookie consent fines vary enormously, from a few thousand euros for small businesses to hundreds of millions for large tech companies. The median fine for cookie-specific violations tends to be lower than general GDPR fines, but landmark cases like CNIL's fines against Google and Amazon have reached EUR 150 million and EUR 35 million respectively.
Q:What laws govern cookie consent in Europe?
Cookie consent in Europe is governed primarily by the ePrivacy Directive (2002/58/EC, as amended by 2009/136/EC), often called the 'Cookie Directive', and the GDPR (Regulation 2016/679). Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive requires prior consent for storing cookies, while GDPR Articles 6 and 7 define lawful consent requirements. National implementations vary by country.
Browse case links on this page
Cookie Consent Enforcement Actions (79 total)
- RheinMain University of Applied Sciences (Germany) – court ruling – Dec 2021
- Richard Lloyd (United Kingdom) – court ruling – Nov 2021 | Third-Party Cookies Without Consent
- Court case HFD:2021:125 (Finland) – court ruling – Sept 2021
- Data Privacy Stichting (Netherlands) – court ruling – Mar 2023 | Third-Party Cookies Without Consent
- Proximus N.V. (Belgium) – court ruling – Feb 2021
- The claimant Walter Tzvi Soriano and the defendants, including Forensic News LLC (United Kingdom) – court ruling – Jan 2021
- Google LLC (France) – court ruling – Mar 2021 | Unclear Cookie Information
- Claimant: Bundesverband der Verbraucherzentralen und Verbraucherverbände - Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband e.V. (vzbv) (Germany) – court ruling – Sept 2020 | Pre-ticked Consent Boxes, Reject Harder Than Accept, Third-Party Cookies Without Consent, Unclear Cookie Information
- Association des agences de communication (France) – court ruling – Jun 2020
- Court case III CZP 78/19 (Poland) – court ruling – Aug 2020
- Court case N° 434684 (France) – court ruling – Jun 2020
- Bundesverband der Verbraucherzentralen und Verbraucherverbände – Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband e. V. (Germany) – court ruling – May 2020 | Pre-ticked Consent Boxes
- The State of the Netherlands (Netherlands) – court ruling – Jan 2020
- VKI (Austria) – court ruling – Nov 2019
- La Quadrature du Net (France) – court ruling – Oct 2019
- LinkedIn (Netherlands) – court ruling – Feb 2025 | Cookies Placed Before Consent
- Google Inc. (France) – court ruling – Feb 2019
- Court case C/10/677340 / HA ZA 24-317 (Netherlands) – court ruling – Nov 2025 | Third-Party Cookies Without Consent
- Meta Platforms Ireland Limited (Spain) – court ruling – Nov 2025
- Data Subject versus Social Media Platform Operator (Germany) – court ruling – Jul 2025 | Third-Party Cookies Without Consent
- Court case 33 Cdo 347/2023 (Czech Republic) – court ruling – Sept 2023
- Societe.com (France) – court ruling – Feb 2024
- Telekom Deutschland GmbH (Germany) – court ruling – Nov 2023 | Third-Party Cookies Without Consent
- Criteo (Netherlands) – court ruling – Oct 2023 | Cookies Placed Before Consent, Cookies Persist After Rejection
- Court case 2 C 133/21 (Germany) – court ruling – Sept 2021