Forum Numerica - Analysis of non-compliant Privacy Policies and Cookie Banners

In this talk I will discuss concrete instances of non-compliant privacy policies and cookie banners, according to the General Data Protection Regulation and the ePrivacy Directive. Take the example of vague and hidden privacy policies, or practices such as blocking access to a service by a cookie wall while it is not necessary to use the service as such; or others practices that facilitate consent by a simple pre-ticked box but turns the process of data protection longer and complicated; and even banners that use words making the user feel guilty whenever he refuses advertising tracking or uses an ad blocker. These cases, and many others that will be presented, reflect current practices that can affect the ability of individuals to effectively protect their personal data and make conscious choices.

Cristiana Santos is a lawyer and researcher, with interdisciplinary experience in Law sembio Technology and Legal Informatics. She holds a joint PhD title in Law, Science and Technology and in Informatics, and a Master Degree in Contract and Business Law. She was a legal advisor in the Portuguese Association for Consumer Protection (DECO) where she provided legal advice to consumer´s complaints, was responsible for policy analysis, dispute resolution between companies and consumers, and was a trainer on consumer rights education sessions. She was a researcher at the Faculty of Law of Minho University in Portugal, and in the Institute of Law and Technology of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (IDT-UAB). In addition, she gained research experience at the Univ. of Bologna, Turin, and Luxembourg. Currently she is a postdoctoral researcher at the Faculty of Law of the University Toulouse 1 Capitole, Chair SIRIUS (Space Institute for Research on Innovative Uses of Satellites), studyin g the applicability and impact of new technologies in the outer space. She has a multidisciplinary profile in the following fields: Privacy and Data Protection, Consumer Law, Legal Knowledge Engineering and Space Law.