diff --git a/src/wp-admin/includes/schema.php b/src/wp-admin/includes/schema.php
index 4be5d5399a..a41f9b5e5b 100644
--- a/src/wp-admin/includes/schema.php
+++ b/src/wp-admin/includes/schema.php
@@ -535,6 +535,9 @@ function populate_options() {
 
 		// 4.9.6
 		'wp_page_for_privacy_policy'      => 0,
+
+		// 4.9.8
+		'show_comments_cookies_opt_in'    => 0,
 	);
 
 	// 3.3
diff --git a/src/wp-admin/options-discussion.php b/src/wp-admin/options-discussion.php
index c98c441103..48fb552bb8 100644
--- a/src/wp-admin/options-discussion.php
+++ b/src/wp-admin/options-discussion.php
@@ -85,6 +85,13 @@ printf(
 ?>
 </label>
 <br />
+
+<label for="show_comments_cookies_opt_in">
+<input name="show_comments_cookies_opt_in" type="checkbox" id="show_comments_cookies_opt_in" value="1" <?php checked( '1', get_option( 'show_comments_cookies_opt_in' ) ); ?> />
+<?php _e( 'Show comments cookies opt-in checkbox.' ); ?>
+</label>
+<br />
+
 <label for="thread_comments">
 <input name="thread_comments" type="checkbox" id="thread_comments" value="1" <?php checked( '1', get_option( 'thread_comments' ) ); ?> />
 <?php
diff --git a/src/wp-admin/options.php b/src/wp-admin/options.php
index 1bb24b93bf..95f913f496 100644
--- a/src/wp-admin/options.php
+++ b/src/wp-admin/options.php
@@ -116,6 +116,7 @@ $whitelist_options = array(
 		'default_comments_page',
 		'comment_order',
 		'comment_registration',
+		'show_comments_cookies_opt_in',
 	),
 	'media' => array(
 		'thumbnail_size_w',
diff --git a/src/wp-includes/comment-template.php b/src/wp-includes/comment-template.php
index 19df07d160..1f7596dc55 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/comment-template.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/comment-template.php
@@ -2271,7 +2271,7 @@ function comment_form( $args = array(), $post_id = null ) {
 					 '<input id="url" name="url" ' . ( $html5 ? 'type="url"' : 'type="text"' ) . ' value="' . esc_attr( $commenter['comment_author_url'] ) . '" size="30" maxlength="200" /></p>',
 	);
 
-	if ( has_action( 'set_comment_cookies', 'wp_set_comment_cookies' ) ) {
+	if ( has_action( 'set_comment_cookies', 'wp_set_comment_cookies' ) && get_option( 'show_comments_cookies_opt_in' ) ) {
 		$consent           = empty( $commenter['comment_author_email'] ) ? '' : ' checked="checked"';
 		$fields['cookies'] = '<p class="comment-form-cookies-consent"><input id="wp-comment-cookies-consent" name="wp-comment-cookies-consent" type="checkbox" value="yes"' . $consent . ' />' .
 							 '<label for="wp-comment-cookies-consent">' . __( 'Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.' ) . '</label></p>';
diff --git a/tests/phpunit/tests/comment/commentForm.php b/tests/phpunit/tests/comment/commentForm.php
index 45f83a4d17..0fabd97a6a 100644
--- a/tests/phpunit/tests/comment/commentForm.php
+++ b/tests/phpunit/tests/comment/commentForm.php
@@ -87,6 +87,8 @@ class Tests_Comment_CommentForm extends WP_UnitTestCase {
 	public function test_fields_should_include_cookies_consent() {
 		$p = self::factory()->post->create();
 
+		add_filter( 'option_show_comments_cookies_opt_in', '__return_true' );
+
 		$args = array(
 			'fields' => array(
 				'author' => 'Hello World!',
@@ -94,6 +96,8 @@ class Tests_Comment_CommentForm extends WP_UnitTestCase {
 		);
 		$form = get_echo( 'comment_form', array( $args, $p ) );
 
+		remove_filter( 'option_show_comments_cookies_opt_in', '__return_true' );
+
 		$this->assertRegExp( '|<p class="comment\-form\-cookies\-consent">.*?</p>|', $form );
 	}
 }