Is a Cookie Consent Banner Required for My Website in the United States?

Ah, cookie consent banners. They’re a hot topic around the world right now. As fines continue to stack up from the E.U.’s General Data Protection Website Regulation (GDPR), to the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA), many business owners are wondering: “Is a cookie consent banner a requirement in the United States?” 

 

It certainly seems like. But then, taking a look at the law, it doesn’t seem like there’s anything that explicitly states a business must have a cookie banner in the United States.  

 

Ah-ha! But that’s simply not true.  

 

There is officially no federal law stating that your business must have a cookie banner. But state laws like the CCPA and the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA) say that businesses must provide notice, collect consent, maintain records, and allow end users to manage their preferences easily. And while they may not say “cookie banner” explicitly, that’s exactly what a cookie banner can help you do.  

 

Additionally, if your website collects or manages information from end users that live in regions where the GDPR has been enacted, you’ll definitely need a cookie banner. That’s right – even if your business is in the United States, you still want that cookie banner for the sake of the GDPR. The GDPR says so!  

 

What does a cookie banner do exactly?  

 

We are all familiar with what cookie banners look like, but there is some confusion about what they do, and what a compliant cookie banner looks like. 

 

A compliant cookie banner will have:  

 

• Equally sized buttons that allow end users to accept or reject all cookies with the same relative ease 

• A concise cookie policy written in clear, understandable language 

• A way for customers to easily manage preferences 

 

A non-compliant cookie banner will have:  

 

• Only one option for accepting all cookies. This might look like “OK,”  

• Automatically assuming consent if the users continues browsing without selecting an option 

• Multiple clicks or steps required for a user to decline all cookies  

• A tricky or confusing cookie policy 

• No way for customers to manage their cookie preferences 

 

As for what a cookie banner does, it’s fairly straightforward. It automatically helps you collect and manage cookie consent from your end users. It also helps you maintain records in the event of an audit. Pretty neat, right?  

 

Let’s take a deeper dive, though…  

 

Now that we know there isn’t a federal law in the U.S. that explicitly states a company must have one – but we also learned that a cookie banner can help you easily become compliant with federal laws in place, there’s even more.  

 

One really smart reason to have a cookie consent banner is because of a law called the Children’s Online Privacy and Protection Act (COPPA). It is incredibly strict around the information you can collect and use of minors. And while there is some discrepancy between US laws like CCPA and VCDPA about what age constitutes a minor, they both have the same underlying theme: you do not want to mess with COPPA. If your business gets caught collecting, storing, or selling the information of minors, you will be fined and penalized. Your reputation might also suffer.  

 

A cookie consent banner is a great way to keep compliant with laws like COPPA, because it can help you ensure that you are considering the age of your end users and collecting consent from their parents or guardians if need be. It can also help you keep those records – just in case! And if your website is specifically geared toward children, or contains images, music, or other content that may be attractive to children, you’ll need to be especially careful about getting that proper consent.   

 

There’s also the matter of marketing. In the past, third-party cookies were an easy way for marketers to get information and targeted insights about their customers so they could send them the right information at the right time. Now that Chrome is doing away with third-party cookies, and many laws are prohibiting or limiting them, marketers have to readjust their strategy.  

 

This can be a big change for businesses. Many marketers have felt frustrated by this change, but it’s important to remember that it’s not the end of the world. Using personal data responsibly may take some time to get used to, but in the end, it’s better for your business and your customers.  

 

Numbers to remember about cookie consent 

 

• Amazon was fined $877M in 2022 for failure to obtain proper cookie consent  

• Meta was fined 275M in 2022 for failure to disclose its cookie practices  

• Google Ireland was fined $108M for making it easier for users to accept cookies than decline them  

 

We’re talking about big businesses here, who can likely afford the fines and move on, but small to mid-sized businesses simply cannot. You could incur a fine of up to $7,500 just for one violation. What might be even worse is the loss of your reputation and customer trust. Trust is a vital part of small businesses maintaining a good revenue stream and expanding their company.  

 

The right cookie banner can help you avoid fines!  

 

At Adzapier, we want your small business to thrive. No, you may not rack up millions of dollars in fines like Amazon, Google and Meta – but even a smaller fine could do considerable damage to the company you’ve worked so hard to build. And no one wants that.  

 

Adzapier’s friendly data privacy experts are here to the rescue. They can help you get set up with a fully customizable cookie consent banner in just a few minutes. They’ll walk you through the whole process and make sure you’re comfortable with using and managing your cookie consent banner. Best of all, it’s an affordable option that help you avoid fines, penalties or damage to your reputation in the future. Best of all, you can get 14 days of free compliance right off the bat to check and make sure this is the right solution for your business. Don’t wait!  

 

 

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