EU Legislation on Cookies

Can anyone explain the Dec.11th legislation for use of cookies?

[mph88888]

There is new legislation effective 11th Dec. having to do with the use of cookies and giving users a clear means to opt-out if they wish to do so. There seems to be a lot of confusion amongst cookie-based web analytics providers as to what the implications are of this legislation for them and how it will change their business moving forward. Does anyone out there have any insight into this issue?

[claus]

Could you provide a pointer to some facts about this? It this yet another law that has to be passed by local governments before it takes effect or what is it?

That said, opt-out seems to be pretty difficult to some stuff i'm working with - not that it's difficult technically, it just involves a h-u-g-e amount of sites and users (tracking service provider)

/claus

[lundsfryd]

As far as I am informed, you got it right, mph88888. Websites that use cookies must clearly notify the visitor and provide him with an easy way to opt-out.

[mph88888]

Actually, I'm not ever sure about the "notifying the visitor" part, I just think that the visitor needs to be able to see a link (somewhere on the page) to a Privacy Policy, where the opt-out is clearly visible and easy to follow.

[PCInk]

So it's opt out? Does this mean you can set a cookie without warning them, but must allow the user the option to refuse them? And if you give the user that option, how do you track this? (With a Cookie? - seems a little ironic doesn't it, but I suppose if the Cookie contained the word 'opted_out', would that be enough?)

Or, if you provide a link that just clears the cookie once, but then set's it again in the next page view (because we can't use a cookie to track that the visitor does not want the cookie!), would that be illegal?

[roitracker]

To comply, websites must state that their website uses cookies, what they are used for, and how they can be avoided. The legislation requires that this information is provided "in an obvious way" somewhere on the site.

A prominent link to your privacy policy should qualify as disclosure "in an obvious way".

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer. Always seek professional advice from a qualified solicitor. etc, etc.

[bcolflesh]

WebAbacus has published a white paper on the EU cookie directive and its impact on online business.

PDF:
webabacus.co.uk/80256A8B0055094F/files/WebAbacus+EU+Cookie+Legislation+White+Paper.pdf/$file/WebAbacus+EU+Cookie+Legislation+White+Paper.pdf

[mph88888]

Yes, however this whitepaper is quite old and very general in it's statements.

[scatcat]

Hello everyone.

Have a look at www.allaboutcookies.org

It has all you need to know............I think.