Civil society organisations launch 'kill the cookie banner' campaign

A coalition of 19 civil society organisations, businesses, and academics, including the European Consumer Organisations (BEUC), European Digital Rights (EDRi), and NOYB, have signed an open letter calling on European Union (EU) institutions to preserve a proposed regulation that would end the cookie banner and deliver genuine simplification for EU users. 

Introduced by the European Commission in Autumn 2025 as part of its Digital Omnibus package under Article 88b of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the mechanism allows users to register tracking preferences once via devices or browsers. The civil society coalition argues that existing consent banners represent malicious compliance designed by the tracking sector to extract consent, despite EU law prohibiting tracking by default. Supporters claim that automated signals would eliminate deceptive prompts and protect less tech-savvy users.

The signatories warn that intensive industry lobbying spearheaded by Google has jeopardised the initiative. Several member states are obstructing the measure, leading the Council of the European Union to delete Article 88b from its negotiating position. However, the coalition notes that the European Parliament is still fighting to preserve the measure. They urged the Parliament, Council, and Commission to reject deregulatory compromises, restore Article 88b, and eradicate cookie banners to uphold data protection rights across the bloc.

Training Announcement: Freevacy offers a range of independent data protection qualifications from IAPP and BCS. Our certified courses are available at foundation and practitioner levels and cover multiple legal jurisdictions, data protection operations management, and the implementation of complex privacy solutions in technical environments. Find out more.