Guidelines 05/2020 on consent under Regulation 2016/679

What it covers

This document analyses the concept of consent under Article 4(11) and Article 7 GDPR, covering each element of valid consent, explicit consent, withdrawal, the interaction with other lawful bases, and specific areas of concern including children's consent and scientific research.

Why it matters

It is the primary interpretive reference for determining whether consent obtained from a data subject meets GDPR validity requirements, including in cookie and online consent scenarios.

Refer to it when

• designing a consent request or cookie banner
• assessing whether consent is freely given in an imbalance-of-power relationship
• handling withdrawal of consent
• obtaining consent from children for online services
• relying on consent for scientific research processing

Questions this document addresses

• What are the elements required for consent to be valid under the GDPR?
• When is consent invalid due to conditionality or detriment?
• How must explicit consent be obtained?
• How does consent interact with other lawful grounds in Article 6?
• What special rules apply to children's consent under Article 8?

Topics

• Consent
• Lawful basis
• Children's data
• Data subject rights