by Kristof Van Quathem, Anna Oberschelp de Meneses, and Diane Valat
From left to right: Kristof Van Quathem and Anna Oberschelp de Meneses (Photos courtesy of Covington & Burling LLP)
On January 18, 2023, the European Data Protection Board (“EDPB”) published a report setting out the common positions of the EDPB and EEA member state supervisory authorities (“SAs”) with respect to interpreting the EU rules applying to cookies. SAs will take these common positions into account when handling cookie complaints.
The report was drafted by the EDPB’s Cookie Banner Taskforce (“Taskforce”), which is composed of the EDPB and 18 SAs. However, the report does not have the same interpretative value as EDPB guidance. Moreover, SAs will not take into account the positions mentioned in the report in isolation – they will also take into account additional national requirements stemming from the national laws transposing the ePrivacy Directive and SAs’ national guidance.