noyb success: ORF.at must correct misleading cookie banner
Austria's Federal Administrative Court has upheld a ruling requiring public broadcaster ORF to redesign its cookie consent banner so that the accept and reject buttons are visually equal. The decision, which follows a successful complaint by privacy group noyb, addresses ORF's practice of highlighting the 'Accept' button in color, which the court agreed could push users into unintended consent.
Why this matters: This is about a design trick that has been standard practice across the web for years. Making 'Accept' bright and 'Reject' dull is not a neutral choice. It is a nudge, and it works. Most people click the obvious button. A court calling that out matters because it shifts the baseline. Cookie consent has to be a real choice, not a UI pattern designed to harvest agreement. If one of Europe's public broadcasters had to change, so does everyone else still running the same playbook.
Who should care: Lawyers · Privacy officers · AI governance · Cybersecurity · General readers · Policy
This summary is AI-assisted and may contain errors. It is an original briefing to help you gauge significance quickly — not a reproduction of the source. Always read the linked original before relying on it. See our methodology.