Website Cookie Compliance
New EU laws mean that anyone owning a website must now gain consent for the use of cookies or other visitor-tracking technologies embedded in their site. How should you respond? What options are available for you to mitigate this new legal business risk?
What are Cookies?
Cookies are little files that almost all websites use as a kind of memory. They are stored in your browser and enable a website to 'remember' little bits of information about your visits.
Mostly, they are used to make your web experience easier, like automatically logging you in on return visits, or remembering settings like text size. However they can also be used to track you, collecting data about websites you have visited with content and advertising displayed according to this data.
How Does the New EU Law Affect Cookies?
The 26th May 2011 saw a new EU law came into effect which requires website owners to obtain informed consent from visitors before they can store information about their browsing behaviour on the site.
As a result, this new Cookie Law is new privacy legislation that requires websites to make significant changes to their sites and may fundamentally change the whole web browsing and shopping experience for everybody.
This use of 'tracking' cookies in particular is what the EU wants to raise awareness of with the new law. By requiring websites to inform and obtain explicit consent for cookies it aims to give web users more control over their online privacy.
For businesses in the UK, there has been a delay in implementing the law - but only until May 25th, 2012. After that date, the Information Commissioners Office (ICO), the body responsible for enforcing the law in the UK, will be able to fine website owners up to £500,000 for serious breaches of the law.
How We Can Help
In partnership with Thin Martian, we have created an online resource - www.cookielaw.org - which provides solutions and highlights all the information you need to keep upto date and make sure your website stays within the law.
As well as working directly with a number of our clients on this issue, we have built a simple widget which will allow you to comply with the new regulations with the minimum of fuss.
The site also provides the Cookie Collector - a free downloadable tool that can quickly perform an audit of your site and see what cookies are present. You may be surprised at how many you'll find!
Please get in contact if you'd like to discuss the new Cookie Laws and how they may impact you.