Does Your Website Cookie Compliance Function the Way You Expect It To?
February 25, 2026
Dealerships increasingly rely on website banners to manage customer tracking preferences—but recent lawsuits show that many banners don’t actually do what they claim. And regulators, especially in California, are making it clear: if your website says it honors opt‑out choices, it must do so in practice.
A recent class action against the ATP Tour illustrates the risk. According to the complaint, users who selected “essential cookies only” still had their data shared with Google, ComScore, and other analytics partners. The suit alleges violations of the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act and the California Invasion of Privacy Act, arguing that the site’s banner created a false sense of control over data sharing.
This pattern mirrors dozens of similar actions targeting deceptive cookie banners, dark patterns, and broken opt‑out mechanisms. California regulators have repeatedly emphasized that businesses must honor Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals, avoid misleading consent flows, and ensure that “Reject All” actually stops non‑essential tracking. When websites claim compliance but continue transmitting data, regulators treat it as a deceptive practice.
Dealerships are not exempt. State privacy laws in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, and others apply to automotive retailers that collect consumer data through website forms, chat tools, analytics scripts, and advertising pixels. If a dealer’s site loads Meta Pixel, Google Analytics, or third‑party lead‑gen trackers before consent—or continues sharing data after a user opts out—that’s a compliance failure.
Common misfunctions include:
- “Reject All” still allowing analytics or advertising scripts to fire
- GPC signals ignored by the site or its vendors
- Consent banners that appear compliant but don’t control downstream data sharing
- Third‑party tools (chat, trade‑in widgets, schedulers) bypassing consent settings
The takeaway is simple: your website must function the way your banner promises. With regulators and plaintiffs’ attorneys watching closely, dealerships need to verify, not assume, that their cookie tools, pixels, and vendors are honoring customer choices. Few website providers include comprehensive consumer privacy compliance in their standard website banners.
Accelerate2Compliance and Privacy Pillar can help you make sure your website banners and customer data handling options do what you expect them to do. We can perform an audit on your websites, show you where you are at risk and suggest ways to address the gaps identified. Contact us at [email protected] for more information or to schedule an audit.
Matt Vatter
Chief Compliance Officer, Accelerate2Compliance
Why A2C?
Compliance is an incredibly complicated topic, but our solution is the opposite of complicated: it’s just simple. We take the complexities of information security compliance and simplify them, so you can know what you need to do, do it efficiently, then get back to doing what you do best. You’ll get everything you need from us, and that’s all – you will not be paying for extras you DON’T need. We know what we’re doing. As you begin your information security compliance journey with A2C, you can rest assured you’ll be headed down the road to compliance.
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