The federal government would like to open up a new way to stop the flood of cookie banners. With votes from traffic light factions and the absence of the left, the Bundestag on Thursday evening approved a regulation that the federal government introduced in September after years of blockade. It aims to be a “user-friendly alternative to the multitude of personal decisions” with consent banners. Validation services are intended to enable end users to provide ongoing consent. Also, according to the plan, it will be possible to understand and review the decisions at any time.
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However, participation is voluntary for website operators. Furthermore, the project is also not threatened by the fate of the largely ignored “do not track” option in common web browsers: the German plan does not provide for any broad default settings for tracking cookies; Rather, users must make decisions for each website individually. And yet, participating websites only have to consider consent; The website may still display the cookie banner repeatedly if the user has declined a recognized service.
Federal Audit Office: Brutal report on the state of digital governanceIf you use one of the “Recognized Services”, the web server may send cookies to recognize its users, restore settings, measure access, track activities (“tracking”) or display personalized advertising. Or be able to use similar methods. The regulation says, which was adopted unchangedThis should eliminate the need for daily consent clicks on banners on similar websites.
Criticism from consumer advocates and opposition
In September, the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations (vzbv) criticized the fact that website operators do not have to accept the decisions taken. If Users do not consent to the setting of cookies, online services may ask for consent as many times as desired. Only opt-ins are valid permanently. Users who clicked “Accept” in irritation can no longer rely on being protected from tracking and profiling by the privacy-friendly settings built into their browsers. Browsers must store cookies – against the user’s wishes. This will hurt manufacturers who want to protect their users from tracking.
The regulation must be evaluated two years after it comes into force. Government groups would then want to find out whether voluntary action is sufficient and how the market has developed. Opposition representatives question the entire effort. Doubts were also raised as to who might actually have an interest in developing a consent service. Digital State Secretary Daniela Kluckert (FDP) said at a key committee meeting on Wednesday: “We enable the creation of such services, but we do not mandate it.”
Government relies on incentives rather than obligations
Decisions made are “valid until canceled, unless the context or the expectations of the parties dictate otherwise.” A recognized consent management service may remind users of their settings for consent requests as soon as one year later. According to the first draft from 2022, users should be encouraged to check their specifications “after a reasonable period of time, but not more than six months”.
The Federal Data Protection Commissioner must decide whether a service is “recognized” after a security concept has been submitted. This examination is subject to a fee based on the time required; After all, the government does not want to get stuck in the expected annual costs of around 79,000 euros. The government hopes that accreditation by an independent body will provide incentives to consumers and website operators to use such services.
The new regulation is based on Section 26 of the Telecommunications Digital Services Data Protection Act (TDDDG). The Federal Council still has to agree.
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Monitoring: Bundestag decides on “security package” – Federal Council slows down
