Netherlands: Issued ruling against AS Watson for unlawful use of tracking cookies on Kruidvat.nl

On 16 July 2024, the Dutch Data Protection Authority (AP) issued a ruling against AS Watson (Health and Beauty Continental Europe) BV, the company behind Kruidvat, with a fine of EUR 600’000 for using tracking cookies on Kruidvat without obtaining user's consent. The ruling stated that under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), consent to place tracking cookies must be freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous, which Kruidvat failed to oblige with by using pre-checked consent boxes and a cumbersome refusal process.