The Personal Data Authority (AP) has fined Coolblue 40,000 euros for unlawfully processing personal data in 2020. At the time, the company collected personal data from visitors to the webshop via cookies without their explicit consent. Coolblue automatically assumed that visitors agreed. That is not allowed.
Coolblue had before collecting personal data via cookies should have had explicit permission from visitors. This means that people must actively choose to do so. At Coolblue, this was not the case. In the cookie statement, the company indicated that it assumed that visitors agreed. In addition, Coolblue had pre-ticked the boxes for consent to the use of cookies. This violates the General Data Protection Regulation (AVG).
In late 2019, the AP launched an investigation into websites, including Coolblue.nl, to test their compliance with the rules governing cookies. The AP looked at whether those websites asked for consent in the right way.
After visiting Coolblue.nl, the AP sent Coolblue a letter in November 2019 because the company did not have its policies in order in this area. In April and May 2020, the AP found that Coolblue's practices were still not in order. That's when the AP launched an investigation. In June 2020, it turned out that Coolblue had already changed its working method.
Many people are annoyed by websites that use cookies without permission, or misleading cookie banners that make it very difficult for visitors to say "no. Since 2024, the AP has been doing extra checks whether websites are properly asking permission for cookies.
In addition to additional enforcement of the rules, the AP is providing more education about cookie banners. To help organizations comply with the law, the AP proposed a number of rules of thumb with clear examples of how things should and should not be done.
Finally, the AP launched a "cookie campaign. With the campaign calls on organizations to improve their cookie policy under the microscope. With the campaign, the AP also wants to make people aware of the impact that cookies have on their privacy. On the website of the AP is a lot of information about cookies and what measures people can take to protect to protect their privacy from cookies.
