Skip to main content

Cookie Pledge

A reflection on how to better empower consumers to make effective choices regarding tracking-based advertising models.

Draft pledging principles

Below you can find the draft high-level principles proposed by the Commission for the pledge. The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) was consulted on the principles and gave its opinion on their compliance with e-Privacy Directive and GDPR.
 
On 19 December 2023, the Commission met with businesses from the digital advertising eco system and associations of consumers and traders to discuss the pledging principles.

The Commission and stakeholders will continue to work together and finetune the principles, including by incorporating the comments of the EDPB, with the aim to finalise the pledging principles in January and present a final version at the Consumer Summit of April 2024.

The next step for stakeholders is to discuss those principles and reflect on whether they can adopt them as a voluntary step.

19 DECEMBER 2023
Draft pledging principles
English
(372.06 KB - PDF)
Download
12 JANUARY 2024
Report on 2nd plenary meeting
English
(127.29 KB - PDF)
Download

 

Background

The Commissioner for Justice and Consumers, Didier Reynders, launched a reflection on how to better empower consumers to make effective choices regarding tracking-based advertising models.

In this context, during the European Consumer Summit held in Brussels on the 28 March 2023, the Commissioner announced the Commission’s intention to work together with relevant stakeholders on voluntary solutions that could address consumer issues related to cookies and targeted advertising.

The first roundtable discussion took place on 28 April 2023. The roundtable discussions were open to EU level trade, consumer associations, and global businesses only as we materially cannot extend the discussions to national trade associations or businesses.

Following the roundtable meeting of April, three working groups were set up and a dedicated “wiki” page was created in order to carry out the work at technical level. Participants to the pledge could provide written contributions, exchange views, and participate in the drafting of the “principles” for the pledge via said wiki page. 
 
Meetings of the working groups took place in early July. It appeared from these meetings that further reflection was necessary, so technical meetings were organized in October to deepen the reflection on a number of issues, in particular on consumers’ understanding of various types of advertising models and the consequences for their privacy preferences and on the feasibility of alternative advertising models.

Below you can find the note which served as basis for the discussions, the minutes of the roundtable and list of participants from the 28 April meeting.

18 APRIL 2023
Discussion paper for stakeholders' roundtable on cookies
English
(186.94 KB - PDF)
Download
17 MAY 2023
Report on stakeholders' roundtable on cookies
English
(125.79 KB - PDF)
Download
17 MAY 2023
List of participants for stakeholders' roundtable on cookies
English
(48.48 KB - PDF)
Download

Contact: JUST-B3-COOKIES-PLEDGEatec [dot] europa [dot] eu (JUST-B3-COOKIES-PLEDGE[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)