The Cookie Monster from Sesame Street enjoys gobbling down cookies “Om Nom Nom Nom”. The cookies though on this article are something completely different!
EUROPEAN UNION’S COOKIE LAW
At the end of May the ICO implemented the European Union’s Cookie Law. You may well have noticed surfing around the web that on some sites there appears Cookie notification information – pop ups, banners and links where before there was nothing. There has though been a lot of confusion and disagreement amongst website operators as to how to implement the law.
Effectively the law relates to site visitors giving consent (or “implied consent”) to the use of cookies.
WHAT ARE COOKIES?
Cookies are little bits of code that are placed on your computer when you visit a site for one reason or another. Most websites you visit will use cookies in order to improve your user experience by enabling that website to ‘remember’ you, either for the duration of your visit (using a ‘session cookie’) or for repeat visits (using a ‘persistent cookie’). If you want to know more about cookies, or how to control or delete them, then we recommend you visit http://www.aboutcookies.org for detailed guidance.
WHAT COOKIES DOES YOUR SITE USE?
It will depend on the site and what third party elements are in place. For example if you have a content management system of some kind (eg. CMS Made Simple) the site will use session cookies. Also if you use Google Analytics then your site will be using cookies. Very few sites we’ve built over the years would have carried more than this when they were first published – you may have added other things on subsequently. Lastly, you may well have social plugins (eg. Facebook) which will have some form of tracking.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO YOU?
We’ve been looking into this for some time and there still appears to be an element of disagreement as what should be implemented and what “implied consent” means. We thought we’d communicate now as some of our clients have had “spivs” trying to scare the hell out of them with the thoughts of hefty fines if they don’t act now (probably with highly expensive solutions!).
Firstly, here are 20 + examples of EU law ‘compliance’ by big brands – As you will see solutions range from simple to more involved. My worry with the more elaborate solutions is that it will put visitors off. Especially, if you are not a big brand as there is still little knowledge or understanding of cookies and the cookie law with the general public. This, may well though ultimately be the way ICO deems as the appropriate solution.
A comprehensive guide can be found here with a PDF download from the International Chamber of Commerce.
A simpler guide by numbers can be found here in the form of an infographic.
NEXT STEPS – WHAT DO I NEED TO DO?
The point of this communication is to inform you of your responsibilities. We cannot give you legal advice (these guys can!).
You may choose to wait, simply add a text link to further information or provide a more comprehensive solution like The FT for example. We are here to help should you need our help (CMS website owners can implement a solution themselves if they wish).
What have Feelingpeaky done? We’ve gone the implied consent route and text link on every page. Have a look at the footer of our main site or visit this page for the cookie information.
Phew – you got to the end – well done!
Regards,
Chris
