Dutch DPA Cookie Policy Campaign

Dutch DPA News

Published December 2nd, 2025

Detected March 6th, 2026

Summary

The Dutch Data Protection Authority (AP) has launched a public campaign urging organizations to review and improve their cookie policies. The campaign provides guidelines and aims to raise awareness about data collection practices and privacy risks associated with website cookies.

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What changed

The Dutch Data Protection Authority (AP) has initiated a three-week public awareness campaign, titled "Be smart with cookies," to encourage organizations to develop sound cookie policies. The campaign highlights the importance of transparency in data collection via websites and the potential risks of excessive data collection, especially in the event of data breaches. The AP is providing guidelines and general rules to assist organizations in creating clear and accurate cookie banners and policies.

While this is primarily an awareness campaign, organizations are advised to review their current cookie policies and banners to ensure compliance with privacy regulations. The AP offers resources on its website to help entities understand the privacy implications of cookies and implement protective measures. Although no specific compliance deadline is mentioned, proactive review and updates to cookie practices are recommended to mitigate potential privacy risks and ensure clarity for users.

What to do next

Review current website cookie policies and banners.
Consult AP guidelines for developing sound cookie policies.
Ensure transparency regarding data collection and purpose of cookies.

Source document (simplified)

AP launches campaign to help organisations develop sound cookie policy

02 December 2025 Theme: Cookies “Be smart with cookies.” With this message, the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (AP), the Dutch data protection authority, is launching a three-week public campaign, calling on organisations to review their cookie policy. The campaign can be heard on the radio and seen on websites, in newspapers and in various trade journals.

Privacy is a fundamental right . That is why organisations must be clear about the type of data their website collects and for what purpose. Many organisations collect personal data via their website, which is then never used. The more data a cookie banner collects, the greater the risks in the event of a hack or data breach. This, in turn, can have dire consequences both for the organisations and for the people affected.

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Organisations: create a sound cookie policy

The AP provides organisations with guidelines to help create a sound cookie policy. Furthermore, the AP has drawn up nine general rules for creating a clear and accurate cookie banner.

Protecting privacy against cookies

The AP aims to raise awareness of the impact cookies can have on their privacy. The website of the AP contains comprehensive information about cookies and about the measures people can take to protect their privacy against cookies.