Enforcement
600,000 euro fine for AS Watson (Kruidvat) over tracking cookies without consent
- Date
- Status
- annulled
- Body
- Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens
- Reference
- Besluit boete A.S. Watson, kenmerk z-2021-14274 (2 mei 2024, gepubliceerd 16 juli 2024)
- Amount
- €600,000
What it is about
On Kruidvat.nl the boxes for advertising cookies were pre ticked, and refusing took four screens. As a result AS Watson processed visitor data without valid consent: location, pages visited, products added to the basket and recommendations clicked. For pharmacy products this yields sensitive profiles. The DPA found a breach of Article 6(1) in conjunction with Article 5(1)(a) GDPR, lasting until 1 October 2020, and imposed 600,000 euros. On 27 May 2025 this decision was revoked on objection and replaced by a 50,000 euro fine. The breach itself stood.
What this means in practice
A pre ticked box is not consent (Planet49). Without valid consent, tracking has no legal basis under Article 6 GDPR. A long refusal route makes this worse. On sites with sensitive products the DPA weighs this more heavily. Objecting can pay off: the amount was cut sharply, partly because the procedure took so long and the breach was admitted, but the breach itself stood.
The GDPR articles concerned
Source: Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens, besluit boete AS Watson - Kruidvatchecked on 15 September 2026
Summary and practical reading by Praxikon. Not legal advice; the source prevails.
Connections
What connects to this development
Themes where this returns
The counterpart in the other law
- Article 10 AI Act: Data and data governance
- Article 11 AI Act: Technical documentation
via Keeping records: record of processing, technical documentation and logs
- Article 12 AI Act: Record-keeping
via Keeping records: record of processing, technical documentation and logs
- Article 18 AI Act: Documentation keeping
via Keeping records: record of processing, technical documentation and logs
- Article 19 AI Act: Automatically generated logs
via Keeping records: record of processing, technical documentation and logs
- Article 26 AI Act: Obligations of deployers of high-risk AI systems
via Keeping records: record of processing, technical documentation and logs
Case law8 of 11
- Noord-Nederland District Court upholds DPA fine for village livestream, reduces it to 375 euros
2025-01-09 · status not established, Rechtbank Noord-Nederland
- Council of State: 600,000 euro fine for wifi tracking in Enschede stays annulled
2026-07-29 · final, Raad van State, Afdeling bestuursrechtspraak
- Mousse: asking for Mr or Ms when selling a train ticket is not necessary
2025-01-09 · final, Hof van Justitie van de EU (Eerste kamer), Mousse tegen Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés (CNIL) en SNCF Connect
- Overijssel District Court revokes DPA fine for wifi tracking in Enschede
2024-02-02 · final, Rechtbank Overijssel
- Interim relief judge: DPA must redact fine amount when giving an enforcement decision to complainants
2024-05-31 · status not established, Rechtbank Den Haag, voorzieningenrechter (kort geding, team handel)
- EU Court of Justice in KNLTB: a purely commercial interest can be a legitimate interest
2024-10-04 · final, Hof van Justitie van de Europese Unie
- Schrems v Meta: no unlimited retention and aggregation of data for targeted advertising
2024-10-04 · final, Hof van Justitie van de EU (Vierde kamer), Maximilian Schrems tegen Meta Platforms Ireland Limited
- Gelderland District Court: bankruptcy trustee is controller, DPA fine for unsecured hard drive cut to 58,125 euros
2025-08-07 · status not established, Rechtbank Gelderland
Guidelines8 of 11
- Opinion 28/2024 on certain data protection aspects related to the processing of personal data in the context of AI models
2024-12-17 · final, European Data Protection Board (EDPB)
- Guidelines 03/2026 on web scraping in the context of generative AI
2026-07-07 · under consultation, European Data Protection Board (EDPB)
- Guidelines 1/2024 on processing of personal data based on Article 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest)
2024-10-08 · adopted, European Data Protection Board (EDPB)
- Guidelines 02/2026 on Anonymisation
2026-07-07 · under consultation, European Data Protection Board (EDPB)
- Guidelines 4/2019 on Article 25 Data Protection by Design and by Default
2020-10-20 · final, European Data Protection Board (EDPB)
- Guidelines 05/2020 on consent under Regulation 2016/679
2020-05-04 · final, European Data Protection Board (EDPB)
- Guidelines 02/2025 on processing of personal data through blockchain technologies
2026-07-07 · final, European Data Protection Board (EDPB)
- Guidelines 1/2026 on processing of personal data for scientific research purposes
2026-04-15 · adopted, European Data Protection Board (EDPB)
Enforcement and fines8 of 10
- Dutch DPA and tennis federation KNLTB end litigation: fine cut from 525,000 to at most 250,000 euros
2025-10-18 · status not established, Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens
- 500 euro fine and penalty order for Stichting Oud Lemmer over webcam livestream
2021-07-09 · status not established, Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens
- DPA cuts Kruidvat fine to 50,000 euros on objection
2025-05-27 · status not established, Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens
- Ten municipalities fined a total of 250,000 euros for unlawful files on Muslim residents
2026-02-03 · final, Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens
- Experian Netherlands fined 2.7 million euros for credit scoring without legal basis or information
2025-10-16 · final, Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens
- Coolblue fined 40,000 euros on objection for cookies without consent
2024-12-23 · status not established, Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens
- 100 million euro fine for MLU B.V. (Yango) for transfers to Russia
2026-04-01 · status not established, Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens
- Netflix fined 4.75 million euros for failing to properly inform customers
2024-11-26 · under appeal, Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens
Legislation in motion6 of 7
- Proposal: definition of scientific research, purpose limitation and information duty for research (Article 4(38), 5(1)(b) and 13(5) GDPR)
2025-11-19 · under negotiation, Europese Commissie
- Proposal: exception for biometric verification under the data subject's sole control (Article 9(2)(l) GDPR)
2025-11-19 · proposal, Europese Commissie
- Proposal: legitimate interest for development and operation of AI (new Article 88c GDPR)
2025-11-19 · proposal, Europese Commissie
- Council: Irish Presidency continues with a revised compromise, Antici Group 11 September 2026
2026-09-11 · under negotiation, Raad van de Europese Unie, Iers voorzitterschap
- Proposal: cookie rules move from ePrivacy to the GDPR, with new exceptions and a six-month rule (new Article 88a GDPR and Article 5(3) ePrivacy)
2025-11-19 · under negotiation, Europese Commissie
- Council: Cyprus Presidency tables negotiating mandate, Coreper vote of 26 June 2026 cancelled
2026-06-22 · under negotiation, Raad van de Europese Unie, Antici-groep (vereenvoudiging) en Coreper