After the entry into force of the ePrivacy Directive and the GDPR, the number of banners and pop-ups informing Internet users about cookies has increased considerably. The Universem and Lexing study shows that 86% of the sites analyzed have a cookie banner.
20% of these banners only warn the user that cookies will be installed if he continues his visit (informative banner). 8% offer the possibility to refuse or accept all cookies with a single click (single level consent). The majority, 58%, use a more advanced application and offer a selection, sometimes very advanced, of the types of cookies allowed (multi-level consent).
Nevertheless, the researchers conclude that there are still things wrong with the banner allowing visitors to give their permission for cookies. In almost half of the cases, a cookie is already set, before the user has expressed his or her opinion. This also goes against the spirit of the GDPR regulation.
Finally, having a banner is a start, but is not enough to comply with the entire ePrivacy Directive and the GDPR. Sites must also contain more general information about the data processing being done.
On this point, the results of the study are rather optimistic. Most of the companies surveyed are aware of the rules on user data protection and explicitly state this on their sites. 79% of the companies have a privacy policy on their site and 63% have a cookie policy.