Consent
One of the grounds for processing personal data laid down in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the consent of the person whose data will be processed. A number of requirements must be met in order to speak of a legally valid consent. The consent must be freely given, unambiguous, informed and specific. For more information about consent, please refer to this page.
It is of great importance that the consent in the context of a cookie wall, is freely given. One may, however, wonder whether the permission is really free, in the event that, without permission, no use can be made of the website. "Take it or leave it" does not seem to provide free consent.
Prohibited
Precisely for the reason mentioned above, the GDPR prohibits cookie walls. If the permission depends on obtaining access, or the exchange of another service, for which the personal data are processed, there is no valid permission.
Is there a legal alternative?
The "take it or leave it" approach for accepting cookies does not appear to be a possibility. However, many websites still want to be able to process personal data. An alternative to the cookie wall, if the requirements are met, is the use of a cookie statement. However, the use of a cookie statement does require a free consent, because if you do not accept the cookies, you can still use the website.
Contact
If you have any questions about cookies, a cookie wall or cookie statements, you've come to the right place! Please contact Legal Q and we will see how we can help you.