BGH hears case on cookie liability on third-party pages

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The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) is currently examining whether companies must be held liable for storing cookies on third-party websites without consent. This is reported by Handelsblatt.

What sounds like a technical detail affects practically everyone who uses the internet in everyday life: many websites don't just set cookies for their own functions, but also let third-party providers read along — often before the visitor has even had a chance to say no.

What's at stake at the BGH

At its core is the question of whether a company can be held responsible when a cookie lands on a third-party page without the user's consent. A confirmation of this liability would tighten the rules for any website that incorporates third-party providers — for example, for advertising, reach measurement, or embedding social networks.

In practice, this means for you: the cookie banners that many internet users quickly click away today would have to be designed so that rejection is just as easy as acceptance. Anyone who has simply accepted everything so far would then at least have to consciously decide once.

What's happening in parallel at EU level

The issue is not limited to the national level. According to Handelsblatt, stricter and more uniform rules for cookie consent are being discussed at EU level. A European line could support the BGH's review — or even preempt it.

What remains open

As long as the ruling is pending, it remains unclear for many website operators how far the judges will assess the common practice. The only certainty is that the decision is likely to have a signaling effect beyond the individual case — for cookie practices across the country.