June 1, 2021

Noyb, a privacy group, said it was drafting complaints to 10,000 of the most visited websites across Europe after accusing them of deliberately making it difficult for users to opt-out of tracking cookies.

While the draft complaint will come with instructions to change attitudes, the Data Protection Working Party said it will file full formal complaints with enforcement authorities if firms do not comply within a month.

After the group created an automated system to detect infringements and automatically generate a GDPR compliant, its first letter of complaint shows that 81% of the 500 pages examined did not have a “reject” button on the first page, but had hidden it in the bottom.

While another 73% used “deceptive colours and contrasts” to get users to click “accept” the group found that 90% were not an easy way to withdraw consent.

Commenting on the latest developments, Max Schrems, head of the privacy group and well-known Austrian data protection officer, said that the latest campaign aims to tackle “a whole industry of consultants and designers” who create “crazy click labyrinths”

He accused the companies of trying “to make privacy a hassle for users”.

For more information, read the original story in the BBC.