Generally, most cookie banners fall within four broad categories:

Notice-Only Cookie Banners

A notice-only cookie banner discloses to website visitors that the website deploys cookies (and potentially other tracking technologies), but the banner does not give the visitor any direct control concerning the use of cookies. In other words, the website visitor is not asked to permit or accept cookies, nor are they given a tool or mechanism for disabling cookies on that website. Some notice-only cookie banners may, however, provide information to the visitor on how cookies can be disabled within the visitor’s internet browser.

Deemed-Consent Cookie Banners

A deemed-consent cookie banner discloses to website visitors that the website deploys cookies and asserts that the visitors’ continued use of the website constitutes deemed, or implied, consent for that use.

Notice and Opt-Out Cookie Banner

A notice and opt-out cookie banner discloses to visitors that the website deploys cookies and provides the visitor with a mechanism for disabling the use of cookies on the website in the future. This may include a single option to “opt out” of all cookies, or it may include more granular options to opt out of different types of cookies (e.g., behavioral advertising cookies or analytics cookies) or specific cookies (e.g., cookies set by Company A or cookies set by Company B).

Notice and Opt-In Cookie Banner

A notice and opt-in cookie banner discloses to consumers that a website would like to deploy cookies and asks the consumer to opt in to the use of cookies before cookies are deployed. A notice and opt-in cookie banner may include a single option to “opt in” to all cookies wherein no cookies would be placed on the consumer’s browser absent consent via an affirmative action, or a notice and opt-in cookie banner might provide more granular options to opt in to certain types of cookies (e.g., behavioral advertising cookies) or specific cookies (e.g., cookies set by Company A, or cookies set by Company B).

The following indicates the percentage of companies within the Fortune 500 that deploy each type of banner:^[1]

^[1] Based upon a review of the homepages of the Fortune 500 conducted in December of 2020 from a California IP address.