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Shopify privacy law · United Kingdom

Shopify cookie consent in United Kingdom

Post-Brexit the UK runs its own UK GDPR (almost identical to EU GDPR) plus PECR for cookies. The ICO is one of the most active and pragmatic regulators in the world.

Governing law: UK GDPR + Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR)

Comply with UK GDPR — freeAll jurisdictions
  • Free forever under 5k views/mo
  • No credit card
  • 5-minute install

Enforcement reality

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) issues guidance frequently and enforces consistently. Recent ICO action has focused on Shopify-style ecommerce cookie banners that auto-accept on scroll or use pre-ticked boxes — both explicitly non-compliant per ICO 2023 guidance. As of February 2026, PECR fines are aligned with UK GDPR: up to £17.5 million or 4% of global annual turnover, whichever is higher (a 35× increase from the previous £500,000 ceiling). The ICO's Dec 2024 and July 2025 consultation guidance now explicitly covers Meta Pixel, TikTok Pixel, affiliate scripts, and programmatic ad tags — all require the same opt-in treatment as first-party analytics cookies.

Regulator: Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)

Recent enforcement actions

  • Easylife Ltd·2022·£1.35M

    Profiling customers based on health conditions without consent

  • Clearview AI·2022·£7.5M

    Scraping personal data without lawful basis

What Shopify merchants must do in United Kingdom

  • Opt-in consent before non-essential cookies (PECR Reg. 6) — strict
  • Reject button must be as prominent as Accept (ICO 2023 guidance)
  • No 'consent on scroll', no pre-ticked boxes, no nudge-banners
  • Explicit consent for third-party tags (Meta Pixel, TikTok Pixel, affiliate scripts) — ICO 2025 update
  • Privacy policy that names a UK data controller (UK rep if non-UK based)
  • DSAR response within 30 days, free of charge for first request
  • Honour the right to object to direct marketing immediately
  • Maximum fine as of Feb 2026: £17.5M or 4% of global turnover

How Consentico handles United Kingdom

Consentico's geo-targeting detects United Kingdom visitors at the edge and applies the right banner — opt-in posture for EU/UK rules, with Google Consent Mode v2 signals and a per-decision audit log. The banner survives Shopify theme switches and uninstalls cleanly.

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