noyb Targets Deceptive Cookie Banners With 270 Draft GDPR Complaints

Privacy advocacy organization noyb sent 270 draft complaints to website operators in March 2022, alleging that deceptive cookie banners violated the GDPR. The second wave of its campaign gave operators compliance guidance and a 60-day grace period to correct alleged violations before facing formal complaints to data protection authorities. The effort targeted consent practices, with websites including Nikon, Domino’s Pizza and Unilever adopting clearer yes/no choices.

According to noyb, its first wave in May 2021 led to 42% of identified violations being remedied within 30 days. However, 82% of targeted companies did not achieve full compliance, resulting in 456 complaints submitted to 20 data protection authorities. The European Data Protection Board established a cookie-banner taskforce to coordinate regulatory responses, placing the campaign within a broader effort to align GDPR enforcement across national authorities.