What are cookies?
Cookies are small text files that are stored in the visitor’s Internet browser and are used to recognize the website visitor.
Cookies with opt-in
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that consent to cookies must be explicit (opt-in) and may not be preset. Cookie consent banners that merely inform users that cookies are being set and only offer an “OK” are thus not legal. The same applies to solutions where the corresponding checkmarks are already set but could be removed by the user (opt-out). The long-standing German practice was and is thus unlawful (ECJ judgment of October 1, 2019, Ref.: C-673/17).
The ruling actually applies to ALL cookies. It does not matter whether they are personal or not. The basic idea is that nothing at all may be stored on the user’s device without the user’s consent.
Technically mandatory cookies should continue to be permissible. Art. 5 par. 3 sentence 2 Directive 2002/58/EC remained unchanged. Thereafter, storage may take place to the extent that the sole purpose is to carry out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network or if it is strictly necessary in order for the provider of an information society service to provide that service, which has been expressly requested by the subscriber or user.
(Source: https://www.activemind.de/magazin/eugh-cookies/)
The previous, and in Germany generally held, viewpoint that an opt-in can be requested by default and that an opt-in only needs to be given when personal data is collected is thus obsolete.
LeadLab Opt Out
WM_DONT_COUNT
This cookie can be generated if a website visitor actively wants to exclude himself from the reach measurement. This is a technically necessary cookie. No consent is required in advance for this, the visitor is informed about the setting of this cookie during the OptOut.