When a website asks whether you accept tracking cookies, most people assume their choice will be respected.
But does clicking “Reject All” actually stop tracking?
To find out, Verified Data audited 40 of Sweden’s largest websites across multiple industries, examining what happens technically after a visitor explicitly rejects consent.
The results revealed a wide range of implementations. Some organisations demonstrated strong consent controls, while others continued loading trackers and setting cookies despite a clear rejection signal.
The study comes at a time of increasing regulatory scrutiny in Sweden, with enforcement actions and substantial penalties already issued for unlawful tracking and data sharing practices.
Perhaps the most important finding is that compliance cannot be assumed. A consent banner may be visible, but whether it actually enforces a visitor’s choice is a separate question entirely.
The whitepaper explores the results in detail, including industry comparisons, compliance rankings, examples of common implementation failures, and recommendations for organisations seeking to validate their own consent practices.
Download the Full Report
Download the whitepaper to see the full results, methodology and compliance rankings.
A Practical Question for Data Teams
If regulators examined your website tomorrow, would the technical behaviour match what your consent banner promises?
Many organisations simply do not know.
For organisations wishing to assess their own compliance, the study methodology can be replicated using Verified CONSENT, enabling independent verification of whether tracking technologies genuinely respect user consent choices. Contact us to find out more: hello{@}verified-data.com