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Cookie consent rules in Germany

What TDDDG § 25 and the German data protection authorities (DSK) expect from your cookie banner: when you need consent, how the reject option should look, and what has been enforced.

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Sources checked 28 October 2026. Not legal advice.

Cookie law

Telekommunikation-Digitale-Dienste-Datenschutz-Gesetz (TDDDG), § 25 — renamed from TTDSG in May 2024

Regulator

Federal and state data protection authorities, coordinated through the Datenschutzkonferenz (DSK)

Official guidance

Orientierungshilfe der Aufsichtsbehörden für Anbieter:innen von digitalen Diensten, version 1.2 (2024)

Banner languages

German

Maximum fine

Up to €300,000 for unlawful storage or access under § 28 TDDDG — plus separate GDPR fines where personal data is involved.

What the rules say

  • § 25 protects any information on a visitor's device — whether or not it is personal data.
  • Consent isn't needed only for transmission, or for storage strictly necessary for a service the visitor explicitly requested.
  • If accepting takes one click on the first layer, rejecting must generally be possible there too, without extra effort.
  • Legitimate interest under the GDPR cannot replace the consent § 25 requires.
  • There's no blanket analytics exemption — necessity is judged for the actual tool and purpose.

How PrivacyPill handles this

  • Nothing optional runs before a choice. Google tags start with Consent Mode v2 set to denied; other scripts marked with data-pp-category wait until their category is allowed.
  • Equal first-layer buttons. "Accept all" and "Reject non-essential" sit side by side with the same weight, and a settings button lets visitors withdraw consent at any time.
  • Consent per purpose. Analytics, marketing and functional cookies can be allowed separately in the preferences panel.
  • Languages. The banner ships in German, so you're covered.
  • Proof of consent. Every choice is logged pseudonymously with the banner version, exportable as CSV.
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Frequently asked questions

Sources

This page summarises official sources checked on 28 October 2026. It isn't legal advice; regulators update guidance, so follow the links for the current text.

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