In this guide
- The Digital Omnibus is a European Commission package to simplify digital rules. Its GDPR and cookie part would move cookie rules into the GDPR and expand the list of exempt purposes.
- It also floats longer-lived consent choices and browser or system-level preferences.
- It is still a proposal in negotiation. Plan for it, but keep your current compliance until the final text is adopted and in force.
Every few years someone announces the end of the cookie banner. The Digital Omnibus is the latest attempt, and it has a better chance than most because it comes from the Commission and is moving through the Council and the Parliament. This page explains, in plain words, what it proposes for marketers, what is still unknown and what to do now. It is a summary of a changing situation, not legal advice, and you should check the current status before acting. Sources include the Parliament's legislative train page and the Council documents it lists. For today's rules read cookies, GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive.
What it is
The Digital Omnibus is a package of proposals from the European Commission, published in late 2025, to simplify and update rules across data, AI and cyber security. The part that matters to marketers amends the GDPR and moves the rules on storing and reading information on devices (cookies and similar) out of the ePrivacy Directive and into the GDPR. The AI part has been split off and is progressing separately.
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What it proposes for cookies
| Proposal | What it would mean |
|---|---|
| Cookie rules move into the GDPR | One legal framework instead of two for most cases |
| More purposes exempt from consent | Certain low-risk purposes, such as some audience measurement, could be allowed without consent under conditions |
| Longer-lived consent choices | A choice could stay valid for a set period, such as six months, so visitors are not asked again and again |
| Browser or system-level preferences | Visitors could set a preference once and sites would be expected to respect it |
| Shorter wait before re-asking after a refusal | A Council draft reportedly shortens the period before a site may ask again |
These are proposals and the details differ between the Commission, the Council and the Parliament. Treat the table as a direction of travel.
Where it stands
As of the latest sources we found, the Council was working towards a negotiating mandate on the GDPR and cookie part in autumn 2026, and the Parliament was still forming its position. After each institution settles its position, they negotiate a final text, which then needs formal adoption and a transition period before it applies. Timing estimates vary, from late 2026 to well into 2027 for agreement, and later still for application. Check the Parliament's legislative observatory for the file for the current position.
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What it could change for you
Your banner
If browser-level signals and longer-lived choices arrive, banners could become simpler. Sites might need to read and honour signals from the browser.
Analytics
Some privacy-friendly measurement might not need consent. Advertising and cross-site tracking would still need it.
03Server-side tracking
Little changes in principle. The law cares about the purpose and the data, not where the code runs.
Documentation
You will still need records, notices and vendor contracts.
What to do now
- Keep your current set-up compliant. Nothing in a proposal is law yet.
- Make consent flexible. Choose a consent platform that can read browser signals and change its logic without a rebuild.
- Keep tags tied to consent settings. If the rules change, you change a setting, not every tag. See GTM and GDPR.
- Collect first-party data properly. It stays valuable under any outcome. See first-party data.
- Watch the process. Subscribe to updates from your regulator and your consent platform.
What not to do
- Do not remove your banner or stop asking for consent because a proposal exists.
- Do not copy a competitor's "no consent needed" claim without legal advice.
- Do not assume every country will apply the new rules the same way.
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Your tracking runs on your own domain, so a visit from any country is handled the same way.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Digital Omnibus?
A European Commission package of proposals to simplify EU digital rules, including changes to GDPR and the cookie rules.
Will cookie banners disappear?
The proposal aims to reduce them, with more exemptions, longer-lived choices and browser-level signals, but you would still need consent for many advertising uses.
Is it law now?
No. It is a proposal in negotiation between the Council and the Parliament.
Should I change my consent banner now?
No. Keep your current compliance and make your set-up flexible.
Does it affect server-side tracking?
The rules follow purpose and data, not where code runs, so the basic obligations stay.
Do I need spreadsheets to read my results?
No. Once tracking is live, the Open Tracked analytics shows spend, revenue, ROAS and profit, and you can ask Ari, the built-in AI assistant, questions about your own numbers in plain words. Ari's allowance depends on your analytics plan.
Is Open Tracked different from Open Track or Open Space Track?
No. Open Tracked is the official name of our server-side tracking platform, and the website is opentracked.io. Many people search for it as Open Track, OpenTrack or Open Space Track. All of them lead to the same product: server-side Google Tag Manager hosting, first-party analytics and a CRM pipeline.
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The Open Tracked team
We build Open Tracked: server-side tracking hosting, analytics and the tools around them, for stores that spend on ads. Questions about this guide, or an idea for the next one?
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