UK ICO Issues Warning to Washington Post Over Cookie Consent Practices

UK Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) issued a warning to the U.S.-based The Washington Post over its approach to obtaining consent for cookies to access the service. The Washington Post presents readers with option of free access to a limited number of articles dependent on consent to the use of cookies and tracking for the delivery of personalized ads. To avoid a third party ad tracking (and advertising), a higher fee premium subscription should be choosed.

ICO concluded that since The Washington Post has not offered a free alternative to accepting cookies, consent cannot be freely given and the newspaper is in contravention of Article 7(4) of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”).

Source: UK ICO Issues Warning to Washington Post Over Cookie Consent Practices