Cookie Compliance in 2026: Where GDPR Enforcement Stands Now
Heading into 2026, cookie compliance is entering a new phase of regulatory scrutiny and global alignment. Supervisory authorities in the UK, EU, United States, India, and Latin America are tightening expectations around consent, user choice, and transparency, while intensifying enforcement against non-compliant practices. For organisations operating across multiple markets, the result is a more complex framework to navigate, but also a clearer view of what regulators expect.
This article outlines the key developments shaping cookie compliance in 2026, the emerging global trends, and the practical priorities businesses should address to remain compliant in an increasingly harmonised regulatory environment.
1. The UK: ICO Enforcement Reaches a Turning Point
The UK's Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has significantly ramped up enforcement activity. Following a year-long review of the country’s 1,000 most-visited websites, the regulator reports that more than 95% now meet its cookie compliance standards. The ICO is no longer issuing broad guidance, it is actively testing, intervening, and escalating.
The ICO’s review assessed three core issues:
Whether non-essential advertising cookies were set before users made a choice
Whether rejecting cookies was as simple as accepting them
Whether websites respected a user’s refusal by not placing tracking cookies afterwards
The ICO has already contacted hundreds of organisations, opened investigations, and issued preliminary enforcement notices to non-compliant operators. At the time of writing, only 21 major websites remain under active scrutiny.
Takeaways for Businesses
The ICO is repeatedly testing the most influential UK sites and will continue to do so. Businesses should assume that enforcement will expand beyond large publishers in 2026, especially as the ICO moves to support more privacy-friendly advertising models.
2. Europe: Toward an Overhaul of Cookie Consent Fatigue
The EU is preparing one of the most consequential updates to its digital regulatory framework since GDPR was introduced in 2018. The European Commission has now proposed changes aimed at reducing “cookie fatigue” the persistent banner prompts users face on virtually every site.
Key proposals include:
Allowing users to grant or deny cookies for up to six months without constant re-prompts
Enabling browsers to store a universal opt-out or opt-in preference
Expanding the categories of “harmless” cookies that do not require consent
Allowing specific exemptions for media websites
Improving clarity around analytics cookies and audience measurement
These are targeted reforms, not a reopening of GDPR. The intention is to preserve strong protections while reducing the administrative burden on businesses and improving the user experience.
What This Means for Organisations
Although the proposal will take time to work through the legislative process, companies should expect stricter scrutiny on design practices, especially dark patterns and increasing pressure to offer easier rejection options. The EU’s move toward simplified consent could ultimately support more sustainable, less intrusive advertising approaches.
3. United States: Slow Progress
The US continues to move forward without a federal privacy law, but state-level legislation is becoming increasingly aligned. By 2026, Indiana, Kentucky, and Rhode Island will join more than 20 states with comprehensive privacy regimes.
Common elements emerging across states include:
Notice requirements
Opt-out models for tracking and targeted advertising
Recognition of the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal
Restrictions around sensitive data handling
Although the US still fundamentally operates on an opt-out basis, unlike the EU’s opt-in model, multi-state enforcement actions are becoming more coordinated. Businesses should expect regulators to challenge inconsistent consent mechanisms and dark patterns, especially for major brands operating across several jurisdictions.
4. India and Asia: Multilingual Consent and New Regulatory Structures
India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP) is reshaping consent practices across Asia. The regime introduces one of the world’s most stringent expectations around clarity, accessibility, and user control. Consent must be easy to give and equally easy to withdraw, and must be available in more than 22 official languages.
From November 2026, India will also formally introduce registered “Consent Managers” entities responsible for handling user permissions across digital services. Importantly, only locally incorporated companies meeting minimum net worth criteria can qualify, which excludes most foreign consent management platforms.
Elsewhere in Asia, regulatory approaches vary. China, Japan, and Singapore maintain robust privacy frameworks, each with specific rules relating to tracking technologies. Several Southeast Asian jurisdictions are in the process of aligning their laws with major trading partners.
Implications for Global Companies:
Language accessibility and user-centric withdrawal mechanisms will become non-negotiable for businesses operating in India. Regional fragmentation means consent tools must be adaptable and jurisdiction-specific rather than one-size-fits-all.
5. Latin America: Brazil Leads Regional Alignment
Brazil’s LGPD continues to influence neighbouring countries. Enforcement is intensifying, particularly around:
Pre-ticked boxes
Bundled consent lacking purpose-specific options
Failure to honour withdrawals
Use of non-Portuguese interfaces
Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, and Chile are expected to strengthen or modernise their privacy legislation in alignment with GDPR and LGPD principles.
Expect more audits and rising penalties for misconfigured consent banners and tracking systems. Multilingual compliance will become increasingly important across Latin America.
Preparing for 2026: Strategic Considerations for Businesses
Modernise consent mechanisms: Organisations operating in the UK or EU should assume that regulators will expect one-click rejection, genuine neutrality between accept/reject options, and no pre-loaded tracking before consent.
Transition away from dark patterns: Enforcement across Europe, the UK, and US states is increasingly coordinated in targeting manipulative design. Businesses should review their UX for compliance.
Localise consent for emerging markets: India’s multilingual requirements and Brazil’s Portuguese-only rules are becoming central compliance considerations.
Strengthen governance around ad tech: As the ICO and EU regulators move toward supporting privacy-preserving advertising models, publishers should begin evaluating alternative technologies and measurement tools.
Cookie compliance in 2026 will be defined by two competing forces, rising regulatory expectations and a growing global effort to simplify user experience.
Businesses that invest now in robust consent architecture and transparent design will be well-placed to navigate upcoming enforcement waves, protect user trust, and maintain continuity in their advertising and analytics operations.
How Can Gerrish Legal Help?
Gerrish Legal is a dynamic digital law firm. We pride ourselves on giving high-quality and expert legal advice to our valued clients. We specialise in many aspects of digital law such as GDPR, data privacy, digital and technology law, commercial law, and intellectual property.
We give companies the support they need to successfully and confidently run their businesses whilst complying with legal regulations without the burdens of keeping up with ever-changing digital requirements.
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