Cookie bar, consent requirements, data protection declaration - can you still find your way around?

Even if the headline sounds tasty, it unfortunately only applies to homemade cookies and not to their digital offshoots. A digital (HTTP) cookie is text information or data packets that are stored in the user's browser when visiting a website. There are many different types of cookies , which are either called up via Javascript (program code) via the web browser, or are sent to the browser via the web server. A cookie takes on the following roles:

• It identifies the website visitor using a so-called session ID
• It saves access data , for example when logging in
• It saves the shopping cart for all online shops
• It secures information for web tracking

The last point mentioned in particular plays an important role in the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) in Germany , since indicative information from the visitor may not be stored without his active consent/consent .

The primary use of cookies, however, is to cleverly reuse redundant information from a visitor (so-called session cookies ) in order to make surfing on a website more convenient.

Pretty much every person who visits a website in Germany knows the cookie information . It can be said that a cookie notice, a cookie banner, a cookie warning, a cookie pop-up, or simply a cookie message are one and the same and are displayed in different positions when the page is first called up. At best, these cookie messages should be implemented on a website in such a way that they cannot be clicked away , so that the visitor is forced to make a selection, consent or refuse.

A special feature, however, is the reference to cookies in the data protection declaration . This is to be considered independently of the cookie reference and belongs in every DSGVO-compliant data protection declaration .

Since the EU passed the so-called cookie guidelines , there was complete chaos and ambiguity until December 1st, 2021 as to whether a website operator had to enforce a consent requirement or not . Since the date mentioned, thanks to the Telecommunications Telemedia Data Protection Act (TTDSG), it has now been regulated how the handling of cookies must be implemented in conjunction with the GDPR . That means in plain language:

„If you want to switch cookies on your website, you need real consent from the website visitor, which provides extensive information about the data collection used“

With the exception of:

• Technical cookies
• Telecommunications Cookies

Thus, a cookie notice is mandatory on every website .

With the help of a consent tool , website operators can obtain the consent of visitors to your website with just one click. A consent tool must provide meticulous information about the collection of all personal data . A consent tool should always be set up by a website operator or a professional agency so that essential and non-essential cookies are correctly classified and configured . No data may be transmitted before the consent of a website visitor!

There are many providers of cookie consent tools that cover data collection scripts from Google Analytics, Google Maps, Google Tag Manager, YouTube, Facebook Pixel, Xing, Twitter and others. There are CMS (Content Management System) independent consent tools as well as dedicated plugins for WordPress, Typo3, Joomla, Drupal, Shopware, WIX etc.

In the quagmire of consent requirements and cookies, we recommend professional support for companies so that no mistakes are made in the quagmire of consent options . Our technical and marketing experts can be consulted based on years of experience .