Last month, the European Center for Digital Rights (more commonly known as None of Your Business or “noyb”) launched a new campaign against the use of allegedly unlawful cookie banners by sending nearly 600 draft complaints to companies across the European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA). Noyb is the privacy watchdog organization co-founded by Max Schrems, and it has been very vocal about its new effort to end “cookie banner terror.” According to noyb, EU privacy law requires that users be given a clear “yes” or “no” option to accept cookies, but many companies fail to provide a “no” or equivalent option on the first page of the website or use “dark-patterns,” such as deceptive colors, button contrast, or a labyrinth of sub-menus to frustrate or confuse users into clicking “yes” to accept cookies.
