It didn’t make them unlawful (they were already unlawful), the European Data Protection Board just updated its guidance to make that clear.

Specifically, they clarified that scrolling, etc. or navigating cookie consent walls prior to accessing the site did not constitute valid consent for GDPR purposes.

This is because it wasn’t freely given — to access the site, in most cases you were required to consent to cookies.

The Court of Justice of the European Union also ruled that pre-filled consent checkboxes for cookie banners, etc. were unlawful in October last year.