Cookie consent categories present, but trackers aren't actually gated by them
A consent management platform (CMP) is the tool behind your cookie banner that sorts trackers into categories like 'necessary', 'analytics', and 'marketing' so visitors can choose which to allow. This check looks at whether trackers are wired up to respect those categories. On this site, a CMP with categories is present and higher-risk trackers are loading, but there's no recognised script-blocking code actually stopping those trackers from firing regardless of what the visitor chooses.
Why this matters
The banner shows visitors a choice, but the scripts run either way, so the consent is cosmetic rather than functional. European regulators have taken enforcement action over consent banners that do not match what the site actually does, because the site's promise and its behaviour differ. Whether this applies to you depends on where your visitors are, so check with a privacy adviser.
How to fix it
Your developer needs to connect each tracker script to the CMP's category system, most major CMPs support this through a built-in script-blocking or tag-manager integration, so a tracker only loads after the visitor consents to its category. This typically takes a few hours depending on how many trackers are involved, and should be verified by testing in a fresh, private browser session before and after clicking Accept.
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