The German Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI) advocates for the adoption of a European solution to regulate consent management services in order to reduce the use of cookie banners.

These recommendations are based on a national survey from the "Data Barometer" project, revealing that only 43% of internet users understand the purpose of cookies and that 60% systematically refuse them when a single click suffices. The survey shows strong interest in consent management services: 66% of respondents would consider using them, 83% want their preferences to apply to all sites, and 78% believe these services should be audited by a public authority. Germany already has a national framework with its Consent Management Ordinance and has recognized a first service of this type.

The BfDI proposes to integrate into the European digital omnibus legislative package a legal basis for data protection preferences and binding, machine-readable consent management services. This approach aims to reintroduce a proposal for Article 88b of the GDPR, which was discarded during Council negotiations, that provided for automated consent and objection signals. The BfDI emphasizes the need for a pragmatic solution focused mainly on websites to avoid over-regulation, while ensuring that these tools can manage consents for subsequent processing such as targeted advertising. A factual assessment of the impacts on advertising-funded business models is also deemed necessary.