Sweden’s Cookie Crackdown: How Regulators Are Shaping the Future of Consent

Introduction:

Have you ever landed on a website and instantly been hit with a cookie banner that felt more like an ultimatum than a choice? You're not alone. From retail platforms to news sites, cookie pop-ups have become a near-universal presence and they’re not always designed with user clarity in mind.

Cookie banners were originally intended to promote transparency and respect user autonomy. But too often, they’ve become tools of subtle coercion designed to maximize opt-ins, not informed decisions.

How Cookie Banners Shape Consent Online:

Cookie banners are the first checkpoint of digital consent. They’re supposed to give users meaningful choices about their data but as recent enforcement actions show, design decisions too often steer people toward default tracking rather than real choice. From button design to language framing, even minor tweaks can determine whether a user feels informed or tricked.

Case Spotlight: Aller Media’s Consent Violations

On April 28, 2025, Sweden’s data protection authority, the IMY, issued a formal reprimand against media giant Aller Media AB. The charge? Deploying dark patterns in its cookie banner to trick users into consenting to tracking. This decision, backed by both the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and Sweden’s Electronic Communications Act (LEK), sends a strong signal across Europe and the era of coercive cookie design is over.

This case followed multiple user complaints, not a coordinated investigation, highlighting how regulatory action can be triggered by individuals. Prior cases by IMY (in 2024) focused on Meta Pixel misuse; this time, the spotlight is on manipulative consent design. For businesses operating in the Swedish or EU digital market, this isn’t just a regulatory footnote, it's a wake-up call.

The Legal Framework: GDPR + Sweden’s LEK

Sweden’s enforcement is grounded in two overlapping laws that together set a high bar for user consent:

• GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation): This EU-wide law requires that consent be freely given, informed, specific, and unambiguous and must be obtained prior to any personal data processing. It also places the burden of proof on companies to demonstrate valid consent.
• LEK (Sweden’s Electronic Communications Act): This national legislation mandates prior informed consent for storing or accessing information on users’ devices, including non-essential cookies. It requires that users clearly understand what’s being tracked, why, and by whom.

Together, these laws prohibit any design or language that nudges, pressures, or misleads users into accepting cookies. Manipulative UI elements like pre-checked boxes, hidden settings, or scare tactics aren’t just bad practice; they’re violations of law.

What IMY Identified: Common Dark Patterns:

"Consent isn’t something you trick users into, it's something you earn through clarity and respect." The IMY highlighted several dark UX strategies employed by Aller Media:

1. Visual Imbalance: “Accept” buttons were prominently colored and positioned, while “Reject” options were hidden or styled as dull text links.
2. Friction by Design: Accepting cookies took one click. Rejecting required navigating multiple screens and toggling settings.
3. Coercive Phrasing: Phrases like “Improve your experience” or “I understand” were used instead of clear consent terminology.
4. Pre-Checked Boxes: Non-essential cookies were enabled by default—violating the requirement for active, informed consent.

These patterns exploited user behavior, created a false sense of urgency or necessity, and steered decisions toward acceptance rather than choice.

Time to Act: This Consent Case Is a Warning for Every Digital Business

Aller Media may have received only a reprimand, but future cases may escalate to fines. Under the GDPR, penalties can reach €20 million or 4% of annual global turnover. And the reputational cost is just as high: dark patterns erode user trust and risk alienating privacy-conscious consumers.

Other companies were also targeted in Sweden’s April 2025 enforcement with a gambling site that hid the reject option in low-contrast text and global media brand with inadequate cookie disclosure. Moreover, regulators across Europe are watching. France’s CNIL, Belgium’s DPA, the UK’s ICO, and Norway’s Datatilsynet are aligning against these manipulative tactics.

5 Principles for a Trustworthy Cookie Banner:

To stay compliant and earn user trust, your cookie banner should follow these essential design principles:

1. Equal Visibility: Place “Accept” and “Reject” options side by side, using the same size, color, and prominence. No design bias.

2. Clear First Impressions: Users should be able to make core choices on the first screen. Avoid burying “Reject” behind multiple layers or settings.

3. Honest Language: Say exactly what you mean. Replace vague terms like “Improve your experience” with clear, plain explanations about what data you’re collecting and why.

4. Active Consent Only: Opt-ins must be intentional. That means no pre-checked boxes or silent approvals.

5. Easy Exit: Give users an always-accessible option to update or withdraw consent without friction, confusion, or punishment.Let users modify or withdraw consent at any time, without penalty.

How FairPatterns Can Help:  Introducing Our New Cookie Consent Scanner

Navigating these evolving regulations can be complex but you don’t have to do it alone. At FairPatterns, we blend legal, UX, neurosciences, and Gen AI expertise to help businesses stay compliant and user-friendly. We’ve recently launched our AI-powered Cookie Consent Scanner, , a powerful tool designed to audit real websites in real time. Here’s what it does:

1. Live Banner Scanning Automatically visits websites and identifies cookie banners using a vision-based AI model (LMM/LVM).

2. Button Tracking & Simulation Simulates user interactions (Accept, Reject) to test actual consent flow behavior with Selenium automation.

3. Code scanning Our tool scans the code of cookie banners to detect what cookies are active before, during, and after interaction revealing hidden or prematurely dropped cookies, especially non indispensable ones.

4. Visual & Technical Report Generates screenshots of the banner, analyzes UI layout for bias, and captures full cookie inventories.

5. Violation Detection & Recommendations Cross-checks cookie activity against compliance rules (E-Privacy Directive, GDPR), highlighting violations and auto-generating remediation suggestions.

We’ve already scanned over 300+ live websites, compiling visual and behavioural reports that uncover just how widespread non-compliant banners still are. Whether you're looking for a fast compliance check or a full UX and legal redesign, we help you transform cookie compliance into a strategic trust-builder and a long-term asset for your brand.

Conclusion:  The Future Belongs to Transparent Consent

The Sweden Aller Media case marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of user rights and digital transparency. It’s no longer acceptable to rely on deceptive defaults and coercive design. Regulators are drawing a clear line and forward-thinking brands should too. True consent is a cornerstone of digital trust. When users feel respected, not rushed or tricked, they engage more meaningfully and stay loyal longer.

This is more than compliance; it's a call to reimagine digital ethics as a driver of brand value.

Need help assessing your consent banner? Contact us for an audit today.