Are consumers in Europe more likely than consumers in the United States to “opt-in” to cookies?”

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Yes.

Most cookie banners can be classified into one of three general categories: (1) notice only banners, (2) notice + opt-out banners, and (3) notice + opt-in banners.  If a company chooses to adopt a cookie banner that provides notice and solicits the opt-in consent (e.g., “I agree”) of website users, the company would have a strong argument that it does not need to disclose that it has sold information, does not need to forward deletion requests to the providers of its third party cookies, and does not need to include an “opt out of sale” link on its website.1 

Companies often struggle with anticipating the percentage of users that are likely to accept the deployment of cookies when prompted.  There is relatively little empirical data publicly available concerning website visitors’ interactions with cookie banners.  The little data that exists, however, indicates that acceptance rates differ depending upon the location of the website visitor.  Specifically, users in some European countries (e.g., Sweden and the Netherlands) appear to “accept” cookies when presented with a cookie notice that solicits opt-in at rates that may be more than double the acceptance rate in the United States.2

For more information and resources about the CCPA visit http://www.CCPA-info.com.


This article is part of a multi-part series published by BCLP to help companies understand and implement the General Data Protection Regulation, the California Consumer Privacy Act and other privacy statutes.  You can find more information on the CCPA in BCLP’s California Consumer Privacy Act Practical Guide, and more information about the GDPR in the American Bar Association’s The EU GDPR: Answers to the Most Frequently Asked Questions.

1. Cal. Civil Code 1798.108(c); 1798.115(c)(1); 1798.140(t)(1), (2)(A).  It should be noted that if a company chooses not to adopt a cookie banner, or not to solicit opt-in consent, it does not necessarily have to disclose that it sold information or offer an opt-out mechanism.  Whether a sale occurred is often a fact dependent question that may involve, among other things, differing interpretations of what constitutes a “sale” under the CCPA, and an analysis of the contracts in place between the company and the companies that place cookies on its website.

2. Amazee Metrics, 76% Ignore Cookie Banners –The User Behavior After 30 Days of GDPR (July 20, 2018) available at https://www.amazeemetrics.com/en/blog/76-ignore-cookie-banners-the-user-behavior-after-30-days-of-gdpr/.  Note that study was conducted on B2B international websites.  Acceptance rates for visitors from Sweden and the Netherlands were approximately 23%; acceptance rates for visitors from the United States appear to have been approximately 10%.

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