Court’s decision struck down blanket prohibition on so-called “cookie walls” that prevent users from accessing a website or an application.

By Myria Saarinen and Charlotte Guérin

France’s Highest Administrative Court (the Conseil d’Etat) issued a decision on 19 June 2020 upholding most of the guidance on cookies and other tracking devices that the French Data Protection Authority (the CNIL) had published on 4 July 2019 (the Guidance). However, the Conseil d’Etat struck down the provision of the Guidance imposing a blanket prohibition on so-called “cookie walls” that prevent users who do not consent to the use of cookies from accessing a website or an application. On the same day, the CNIL published a communication acknowledging the decision and announcing that it would adjust its Guidance and future recommendation to strictly comply with the Conseil d’Etat’s decision.

The guidance provides general requirements for obtaining valid consent and details conditions under which audience management cookies may be exempt.

By Myria Saarinen and Camille Dorval

On 4 July 2019, one day after the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) published new guidance on cookies, the French Data Protection Authority (CNIL) released its own new guidance (Guidance). A corrective version followed on 19 July 2019.

The Guidance clarifies “consent” under Article 82 of the French Data Protection Act (Article 82). Article 82 implements the ePrivacy Directive’s cookies rule and constitutes the foundation of the French rules requiring organizations placing non-essential cookies to provide “clear and complete” information to users and to obtain their consent to the use of cookies.