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.
26 results · Showing 1–25
Rossel Group (sudinfo)
Cookies Placed Before Consent · Pre-ticked Consent Boxes +2
Roularta Media Group
Cookies Placed Before Consent · Pre-ticked Consent Boxes +2
DPA case 84/2026
DPA case 74/2024
DPA case 37/2024
No Reject Button
DPA case 38/2024
Cannot Withdraw Cookie Consent
DPA case 11/2022
No Granular Cookie Choice · Cookies Persist After Rejection +2
Institut professionnel des agents immobiliers (Belgian Institute of Estate Agents)
SABAM
IAB Europe
Unclear Cookie Information
Nationale Maatschappij der Belgische Sporen (NMBS)
SA Rossel et Cie
Court case Tussenarrest 2022/AR/292
Proximus N.V.
DPG Media
Freedelity
RTL Belgium SA
No Reject Button · Misleading Banner Messaging
MediaHuis
No Reject Button · Misleading Banner Messaging +1
Ms. X, represented by noyb - European Center for Digital Rights
No Reject Button · Misleading Banner Messaging +1
Defendant : Westtoer APB a public entity giving autonomous services in the area of tourism in the province of West -Flanders.
Telenet
Cookies Placed Before Consent · Pre-ticked Consent Boxes
FPS Finance
Cookies Placed Before Consent · Misleading Banner Messaging
CJEU case C-604/22 IAB Europe
Les Editions de l'Avenir Presse
No Reject Button · Misleading Banner Messaging +1
Mediafin
No Reject Button · Reject Harder Than Accept +1
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 (26 total)
- Rossel Group (sudinfo) (Belgium) – €50K – Jun 2022 | Cookies Placed Before Consent, Pre-ticked Consent Boxes, Unclear Cookie Information, Cookies Persist After Rejection
- Roularta Media Group (Belgium) – €50K – May 2022 | Cookies Placed Before Consent, Pre-ticked Consent Boxes, Unclear Cookie Information, Cannot Withdraw Cookie Consent
- DPA case 84/2026 (Belgium) – complaint upheld – Apr 2026
- DPA case 74/2024 (Belgium) – complaint upheld – May 2024
- DPA case 37/2024 (Belgium) – dismissed – Feb 2024 | No Reject Button
- DPA case 38/2024 (Belgium) – dismissed – Feb 2024 | Cannot Withdraw Cookie Consent
- DPA case 11/2022 (Belgium) – complaint upheld – Jan 2022 | No Granular Cookie Choice, Cookies Persist After Rejection, No Reject Button, Third-Party Cookies Without Consent
- Institut professionnel des agents immobiliers (Belgian Institute of Estate Agents) (Belgium) – cjeu ruling – Nov 2013
- SABAM (Belgium) – cjeu ruling – Feb 2012
- IAB Europe (Belgium) – court ruling – May 2025 | Unclear Cookie Information
- Nationale Maatschappij der Belgische Sporen (NMBS) (Belgium) – court ruling – Jun 2023
- SA Rossel et Cie (Belgium) – court ruling – Feb 2023
- Court case Tussenarrest 2022/AR/292 (Belgium) – court ruling – Sept 2022
- Proximus N.V. (Belgium) – court ruling – Feb 2021
- DPG Media (Belgium) – order – Jan 2025
- Freedelity (Belgium) – violation found – Nov 2024
- RTL Belgium SA (Belgium) – complaint upheld – Oct 2024 | No Reject Button, Misleading Banner Messaging
- MediaHuis (Belgium) – complaint upheld – Sept 2024 | No Reject Button, Misleading Banner Messaging, Cannot Withdraw Cookie Consent
- Ms. X, represented by noyb - European Center for Digital Rights (Belgium) – complaint upheld – Nov 2023 | No Reject Button, Misleading Banner Messaging, Reject Harder Than Accept
- Defendant : Westtoer APB a public entity giving autonomous services in the area of tourism in the province of West -Flanders. (Belgium) – violation found – Feb 2021
- Telenet (Belgium) – complaint upheld – Feb 2021 | Cookies Placed Before Consent, Pre-ticked Consent Boxes
- FPS Finance (Belgium) – complaint upheld – Dec 2020 | Cookies Placed Before Consent, Misleading Banner Messaging
- CJEU case C-604/22 IAB Europe (Belgium) – cjeu ruling – Mar 2024
- Les Editions de l'Avenir Presse (Belgium) – order – Dec 2023 | No Reject Button, Misleading Banner Messaging, Cannot Withdraw Cookie Consent
- Mediafin (Belgium) – complaint upheld – Nov 2023 | No Reject Button, Reject Harder Than Accept, Cannot Withdraw Cookie Consent