UK GDPR & PECR
compliance
After Brexit, the UK kept GDPR as the UK GDPR, enforced by the ICO alongside PECR, the rule that actually governs cookies. If you have UK visitors, you need consent that satisfies both.
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UK GDPR at a glance
Two laws, one banner
PECR requires consent to store cookies; UK GDPR sets the standard that consent must meet.
Regulator
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK data protection regulator.
Fines up to
£17.5 million or 4% of global annual turnover, whichever is higher.UK GDPR and PECR maximum since February 2026
Consent standard
Freely given, specific, informed, unambiguous, with rejection as easy as acceptance.ICO guidance
This guide is general information for site owners, not legal advice. Check the current text of the law and your own counsel for your situation.
What the law requires on your website
Prior consent for cookies
Advertising, personalisation and most other non-essential cookies need consent before they are set. Since February 2026 a few low-risk uses, such as first-party statistics about how the site is used, can run without consent if visitors are clearly told and can object in one simple step. "By continuing you agree" does not qualify.
Reject as easy as accept
The ICO has been explicit: a decline option must be as prominent as accept on the first layer.
Granularity and records
Purpose-level choices, easy withdrawal, and records demonstrating valid consent.
How Clickio Consent helps
Serve visitors from the UK a consent flow configured for UK GDPR and PECR: a localized dialog, granular purposes, equal-weight decline and stored records.
One tag, per-region rules
Clickio detects each visitor's location and serves the consent experience you configure for that region, this law included, without affecting any other market.
Multi-regulation →Localized dialogs
Language auto-detection and full text customization put the dialog in your visitors' language, with granular purpose choices and equal-weight decline.
Customization →Evidence on file
Every choice is stored as a consent record: the demonstrable-consent trail modern laws place on the controller.
Reporting →Frequently asked questions
Is UK GDPR different from EU GDPR?
They remain very close, but the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 has started to move the UK away from the EU text, for example on cookie exemptions and legitimate interests. The regulator (ICO), the currency of fines and UK-specific guidance are the other practical differences. A GDPR-grade consent flow covers both, configured per region.
Do analytics cookies need consent in the UK?
Usually, yes. Since 5 February 2026 the Data (Use and Access) Act lets cookies that only collect aggregate statistics about how your site is used run without consent, as long as visitors are told and given a simple, free way to object, and the data is not shared beyond your processors or combined with other data. Anything used for advertising or personalisation still needs consent. The ICO's April 2026 guidance sets out the details.
What does the ICO say about "Reject all" buttons?
That declining must be as easy as accepting: sites presenting only an accept button on the first layer have received direct warnings. Clickio dialogs present balanced choices by design.
I already comply with EU GDPR. Am I done?
Nearly: serve UK visitors an equivalent flow and keep consent records. Clickio treats the UK as its own region so future divergence is a settings change, not a rebuild.
Does TCF work for UK traffic?
Yes. The IAB maintains UK provisions, and Clickio signals consent for UK visitors within the TCF framework your ad partners expect.
Explore other regulations
Every guide shows how the same Clickio tag serves the right consent experience for that market. Pick the next one that applies to your audience.
Add this market to your consent setup. Included on every plan; paid plans start with a 14-day free trial.
GDPR consent from a Google-certified, TCF-validated CMP is on every plan. Geo-specific settings and multi-language dialogs start on Starter, custom TCF vendor lists on Pro.