Rights Compass

Scenario Navigator

A cookie banner won't let me refuse

Step-by-step legal guidance hasn't been verified in Gaeilge yet, so it's shown in English below. The interface is in Gaeilge.

  1. What is the banner doing?

    The site blocks me unless I accept

"Accept or leave" walls sit in genuinely contested territory. Consent must be freely given (Art. 4(11) GDPR), and the European Data Protection Board's guidance says access to a service should not be made conditional on consent — but national authorities and courts have taken different positions, including on "pay or consent" models, and the case law is still developing.

So honestly: whether this specific wall is lawful depends on your country's DPA line and the details. Check your national DPA's published guidance, or report the site and let the authority assess it — that is exactly what it is for. This portal won't invent certainty here.

Primary sources

What you can do next

Lodge a complaint with your national Data Protection Authority — free of charge, in the country where you live or work (GDPR Art. 77).

This is legal information, not legal advice. For your specific case, contact your national Data Protection Authority, labour inspectorate, a trade union or a free legal clinic.