Cookie banner in Belgium: when it must be shown, and what to test

A cookie banner belongs on a Belgian site as soon as it does more than what is strictly necessary to function. A tracking pixel, an embedded video, or an ad that loads before the visitor clicked anything already falls under that. A banner that only shows “accept” is not a choice. This is a practical check, not legal advice.

When the banner should be displayed

Cookies needed to stay logged in or remember a cart are allowed without a banner. Anything that measures visits, personalises ads, or loads a video from another platform is not. If there is no banner and Analytics or a pixel still loads, then the site is not asking for consent. The script that starts too early is the problem, not the colour of the button.

What the Data Protection Authority wanted to see

On 6 September 2024, the Litigation Chamber of the DPA ruled on Mediahuis’s cookie banners on De Standaard, Het Belang van Limburg, Het Nieuwsblad and Gazet van Antwerpen. The Chamber found that “accept all” was on the first layer and “reject all” was not, or only on a following screen, and that the accept button was highlighted with colour. It ordered an adjustment within 45 days and imposed a penalty payment of 25,000 euros per day per site that was not adjusted.

The Court of Appeal has overturned that decision. So do not treat it as a fine that is still in force. The underlying rule does apply, however: consent for non-essential cookies must be freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous. An ‘opt-out’ button that is smaller, greyer or requires an extra click is the very issue that caused the court to rule against the company.

A first layer that avoids that pattern has this:

• “Accept all” and “reject all” both visible, the same size, equally accessible.
• No green button next to a grey link.
• No checkboxes that are pre-ticked.
• The X is not tacit agreement. Clicking away is not consent.
• Withdrawing later is just as easy. A permanent link in the footer is enough.

What you can check yourself in five minutes

Open the site in a private window.

1. Does the banner appear before you click anywhere?
2. Are accept and reject on the same screen?
3. Choose reject. Reload. Does the choice remain, or does the tracking script still load?
4. Is there a link to change the choice?
5. Does that work on the phone, without the banner blocking the entire page?

If point 3 fails, the banner is an image. The cookies are still being set anyway.

That same test is part of a website analysis.

What this is not

A cookie banner is not website security. A banner does not fix a hacked website. The banner must be operable with the keyboard. That part is covered in making a website accessible. An online store has the same obligation, plus the rules around selling, in starting an online store in Belgium.

Plugin or something that stays correct

Cookiebot, Complianz, or another plugin can draw the banner. The plugin does not know which scripts the theme still loads. A video, a chat widget, or a pixel in the header is often left out. The check is: refuse, reload, and see whether any strange requests are still being sent. After a theme update, that test should be done again.

That is maintenance. What else is included in that is explained in website maintenance.

For a new site

Put the banner in place before the measurement, not after. The text must be in the language of the page. A French page with a Dutch banner is not a choice.

The guideline prices for the site are in what a professional website costs. Anyone who still has to decide what the site should be able to do starts with the choices for starters.

Cookie banner summary

A cookie banner is required if the site measures or places marketing cookies. Accepting and refusing must be equally visible. Closing it does not count. The Mediahuis decision of 2024 has been annulled. Use it as an example of the pattern, not as an ongoing fine. Test the site in a private window, also after an update.