For once, EU legislators have an opportunity to deliver genuine simplification for people: a solution to the ongoing issue of misleading cookie banners. As part of its highly controversial Digital Omnibus package, the EU Commission has proposed legally binding automated privacy signals. These would allow you to set your privacy preferences once, and very rarely see another banner. Unfortunately, the tracking industry is pushing back. Therefore, a coalition of currently 19 civil society organisations, businesses and academics has joined forces. We urge the Commission, the Council and Parliament to support automated signals for privacy choices and a strong Article 88b in the Digital Omnibus.
- Joint open letter to EU lawmakers
- Coalition website: killthecookiebanner.eu
Using the internet has become a real hassle. Even simple actions, such as opening a website or app, often require people to click through misleading consent banners before they can see the actual content. For less tech-savvy people, this can make it impossible to refuse online tracking.
Contrary to what the omnipresence of consent banners might suggest, they are not required by EU law. In fact, in the European Union, online tracking is prohibited by default. Instead, consent banners are the tracking industry’s tool for malicious compliance, designed to trick you into waving your rights. In other words: this system is broken by design.
Cláudio Teixeira, Head of Digital Policy at the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC), said: “Automated signals is the only proposal from the Commission’s Digital Omnibus aimed at actually simplifying the life of consumers. It is therefore extremely concerning to see that policy makers would consider dropping this proposal. With this campaign, we aim to send a strong signal from across civil society that simplification does not need to come at the expense of our rights. Strengthening consumers’ right should be a priority for policy makers.”
Real simplification, presented on the silver platter. In Autumn 2025, as part of a bigger legal reform (Digital Omnibus), the European Commission finally proposed a solution to this problem: legally binding automated signals that would communicate people’s privacy preferences (accept, refuse, or limit tracking) between their device and websites or apps. This proposal was included via Article 88b GDPR.
The idea is neither new nor complex. Your browser already automatically signals other preferences to websites, for example your preferred language. Even California, home to most tech companies, and many other US states, already legally mandate the use of such signals to communicate privacy preferences. Technical solutions are also available in Europe, for example “ADPC” or “navigator.consent”.
Itxaso Dominguez de Olazabal, Policy Advisor at European Digital Rights (EDRi), said: "Privacy is a fundamental right, and people shouldn’t have to fight through endless banners to exercise it. ePrivacy and the GDPR already protect people, but the industry has turned consent banners into a maze of clicks. Article 88b could finally make privacy choices simple and meaningful. For this to happen, we need EU lawmakers to stand up for people's privacy choices without any deregulatory loopholes."
The tracking lobby fights to keep the status quo. It’s safe to say that automated privacy signals would bring real, tangible simplification for the people in Europe, saving them hundreds of millions of hours currently spent on consent banners every year.
The tracking industry, however, is currently doing everything in its power to keep the cookie banner and prevent people from efficiently expressing their privacy preferences. Following lobbying efforts spearheaded by Google, several Member States are now blocking the EU Commission’s proposal and the Council has currently removed Article 88b from its position. But there is still hope. In the European Parliament constructive amendments have been tabled to maintain and improve Article 88b and automated signals.
Ursula Pachl, Head of Policy at noyb, said: “It would be absurd if the responsible decision makers reject an opportunity to significantly improve the digital environment for all people. There is no valid justification to drop the Commission’s proposal for Article 88b and to uphold the current cookie banner disaster. This is a moment of truth for the EU to show what values it cares about and what are its priorities.”
Kill the cookie banner. The 19 undersigned civil society organisations, academics and businesses therefore call on the European Parliament, the Council and Commission to support Article 88b of the Digital Omnibus, kill the cookie banner – and strengthen the fundamental right to data protection and privacy of everyone in the European Union.
