The Counseil d'Etat in France has issued a decision partly annulling the CNIL's guidelines on cookies. In particular, the Council found that the CNIL could not impose a blanket ban on the use of 'cookie walls'.

Although it is a step in the right direction for publishers who make money from targeted advertising, it begs the question how consent to cookies can be freely given when access to certain content is conditional on such consent.