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Cookie consent in Poland, under the Electronic Communications Law.
Poland requires consent before a site stores or reads information on a visitor’s device, unless that is necessary to transmit a message or provide a service the visitor asked for. The rule is article 399 of the Electronic Communications Law (PKE), in force since 10 November 2024, which replaced article 173 of the Telecommunications Law. UKE enforces it, and UODO the GDPR.
PKE at a glanceOpt-in before tracking
- Applies to
- Storing or reading information on a user’s device, or installing software on it
- Cookie rule
- Electronic Communications Law (Dz.U. 2024 poz. 1221), article 399
- In force
- 10 November 2024, replacing article 173 of the Telecommunications Law
- Enforced by
- The President of UKE for article 399, UODO for the GDPR
- Penalties
- Up to 3% of the previous year’s revenue, imposed by the President of UKE, with a lower cap for very small businesses
WHAT PKE REQUIRES
What article 399 asks of a Polish website.
THE RULEClear information, then consentBefore storing or reading anything, the site must tell visitors clearly and simply what it is for, and then get their consent. Only what is necessary to transmit a message or deliver a service the visitor asked for is exempt.
WITH KATLAIn GDPR mode, the cookie guard refuses every cookie outside the functional category until the visitor chooses, and deletes any that were set before it ran.
THE RULEConsent to the data protection standardArticle 400 applies data protection law to this consent, and UODO says cookie consent must be voluntary, informed, unambiguous and follow an active step by the user.
WITH KATLAAccept, Reject and Customise sit together on the first layer of the banner, and nothing is pre-selected. Each decision is stored with its categories, its time and a truncated IP address, and can be queried and exported through the API, CLI or MCP server. Katla keeps the latest decision per visitor.
THE RULEWithdrawal that worksUODO expects visitors to be able to withdraw their cookie consent effectively.
WITH KATLAA floating settings icon, or your own "Cookie settings" link calling katla.open(), reopens the choice on any page.
THE RULESay what each cookie is forUODO lists clear information about the cookies used and their purposes as a duty of every site, and says cookie use should be kept to the minimum necessary.
WITH KATLAKatla scans the site, classifies every cookie it finds and generates the cookie policy from that list, in 13 languages.
PKE questions, answered
A summary for website owners, not legal advice. Reviewed against the sources below.
- What replaced article 173 of the Telecommunications Law?
- Article 399 of the Electronic Communications Law, which came into force on 10 November 2024 as the Telecommunications Law was repealed. The cookie rule reads much as before, and article 400 applies data protection law to the consent.
- Who enforces cookie rules in Poland?
- The President of UKE, the Office of Electronic Communications, fines breaches of article 399. UODO, the Personal Data Protection Office, enforces the GDPR for the personal data cookies collect.
- How large can a fine be?
- Up to 3% of the company’s revenue in the previous calendar year, set by the President of UKE according to the nature and scope of the breach. Very small businesses face a lower cap.
- Do browser settings count as consent in Poland?
- Article 399 still says consent can be given through software or service settings, but article 400 applies data protection law to that consent, and UODO says cookie consent must follow an active step by the user.
- Can the banner be in Polish?
- Yes. Katla’s banner and generated policies are available in Polish, and the widget can follow the visitor’s browser language.
See what your site sets before anyone asks.
The free plan scans your site, classifies every cookie and generates the policy, without a card. The cookie checker needs no account at all.