Real redress, in order

General information, not legal advice on your case. Every remedy has a time limit, often set by national rules: act early, and check the limit that applies to your case before you wait.

1. The controller, in writing

   Without waiting

   Dispute precisely: which consent, given by which gesture, with what prior information. Demand the demonstration, withdraw what you want to withdraw, and refuse what is made conditional without necessity. Keep the screenshots: the pop-up, the pre-ticked box, the cut-off threat, the registered letter demand.

   Data protection and online privacy (Your Europe, European Union)

2. The data protection authority of your country

   After their answer, or one month without one

   If the answer is an assertion without a demonstration, or if the service remains conditional on an agreement it does not need, lodge a complaint with the authority of your country of residence, your place of work or the place of the infringement. The official page of the Union states that the authority investigates the complaint and answers within three months. The European Data Protection Board publishes the list of all national authorities.

   The national data protection authorities (European Data Protection Board)

3. The courts, without going through the authority

   At any time

   The official page of the Union states that you can take the matter directly to court, without first going through your national data protection authority. The Regulation adds that the action may be brought before the courts of the Member State where you have your habitual residence. For a small cross-border claim, the European Regulation establishing the Small Claims Procedure states in black and white that representation by a lawyer or another legal professional is not mandatory.

   Small claims (e-Justice portal, European Union)

Limitation periods and rules of procedure before a national court are not covered here: this site presents only the European baseline shared by the twenty-seven.