Google AdSense and Cookies (Cookie Law) email

EU Cookies

[Badger37]

Hi all,
I've just received an email from Google regarding AdSense and Cookies.
Cookie Law came in a couple of years ago and seems mostly to be a waste or time and just another irritation to website visitors. I was hoping that it would quietly go away!

The email from Google reads as if you now have to implement a 'consent mechanism' if you have already - are other people receiving these emails and what are peoples views (especially if they are in the UK like me).

I've put the Google email text below.
Thanks.



Google Ads Policy Team
Dear Publisher,

We want to let you know about a new policy about obtaining EU end-users’ consent that reflects regulatory and best practice guidance. It clarifies your duty to obtain end-user consent when you use products like Google AdSense, DoubleClick for Publishers and DoubleClick Ad Exchange.

Please review our new EU user consent policy as soon as possible. This requires that you obtain EU end users’ consent to the storing and accessing of cookies and other information, and to the data collection, sharing and usage that takes place when you use Google products. It does not affect any provisions on data ownership in your contract.

Please ensure that you comply with this policy as soon as possible, and not later than 30 September 2015.

If your site or app does not have a compliant consent mechanism, you should implement one now. To make this process easier for you, we have compiled some helpful resources at cookiechoices.org.

This policy change is being made in response to best practice and regulatory requirements issued by the European data protection authorities. These requirements are reflected in changes that have been recently made on Google’s own websites.
Thank you in advance for your understanding and cooperation.
Regards,
The Google Policy Team

[screamingmidget]

clarified it to implied consent. ie, proceeding implies consent. Meaning, people no longer needed to actually click on the button.

What method are you using to display a cookie banner?

At the moment, I'm using this plugin: [wordpress.org...]

There's an option once registered that allows you to show to EU Visitors only, but ideally, I want to find something that can have the Geo IP code on my server so it's faster, and like you mentioned above, have it so it disappears if a visitor goes to a different page.

But everywhere I look it's people complaining and not actually sharing ideas as to the best method to use, which seems pretty stupid to me.

[IanTurner]

I used the IP2Location lite free GeoIP database - if you have enough memory free to hold the entire db in memory the performance hit is minimal

[screamingmidget]

I used the IP2Location lite free GeoIP database - if you have enough memory free to hold the entire db in memory the performance hit is minimal

How have you gone about connecting the cookie banner to this database to first check? Have you used any plugin?

[EmptyRoom]

I have several sites in French and German languages, but I am not living in the EU. I haven't received this email... I just heard about this while reading news.

Do I have to comply with this? Or is this only for people living in the EU? If it's for everyone, why haven't I received the email?

[Leosghost]

You do have to comply..because your visitors are EU..
It is not just for webmasters who live in the EU..
What counts is where your visitors are from..read what Netmeg said Google told her above..
..even one EU visitor to your site means that you must do this..
If you don't ..G may close your adsense account..they do not have to warn you individually first..
G haven't sent the email to a lot of people who have EU based visitors....they still have to comply..
When did G ever do "logic" and or "fair"..?

[netmeg]

BTW apparently the Shareaholic share button plugin for WordPress also has some kind of EU cookie banner that you can configure.

[screamingmidget]

Leosghost...

G may close your adsense account..they do not have to warn you individually first..

I feel that's jumping the gun a bit there. Google display a message in your account if something is wrong. Where have you got the theory that they could just close your account without any warning? I had adsense on an article which they deemed to be adult content a few months ago (I don't think it was really, it was simply about celebrities with the sexiest legs - no nudity in the slightest). Anyway, they gave me 5 days to sort it and I then just clicked to say 'sorted'. That was the end of the matter. If Google don't approve of your cookie banner, they'll alert you inside your account and you'll be emailed.

netmeg...

BTW apparently the Shareaholic share button plugin for WordPress also has some kind of EU cookie banner that you can configure

Yep, see my message a few posts up, that's what I'm using.

[vegasrick]

Leosghost, I'm not sure if that's entirely accurate.

I've been with Adsense for 12 years and make over six figures a year with them. My traffic is around 80-85% U.S. based and the rest from all corners or the world.

I have NEVER been contracted by them over this issue and I don't know any U.S. publishers who have. Google can't simply attack their a publishers because they didn't do something that they have absolutely no knowledge of.

A few of my competitors were notified, and have complied, but they are ALL based in EU countries or receive enormous amounts of EU traffic.

This is not to say Adsense won't contact me about this next week or even tomorrow, but I have a feeling I won't hear from them.

[Leosghost]

Screaming midget..plenty of cases in past threads here and elsewhere down the years of where Google has cut adsense accounts for various reasons, with no warning..( G have always said that publishers have to read adsense TOS, and that TOS may change, that it is up to publishers to be aware of any changes, not for G to contact individual publishers when changes to TOS are made ) ..search them out..

vegasrick..already in this thread there are non EU based publishers who have had this email..and you apparently didn't read the posts from netmeg* ( she is US based, so that is at least one U.S. publisher that you know about ) in this thread..

Makes no difference to me what non EU based people think that G may or may not do, but G have already clarified the issue to some*, and indicated that they may not contact all U.S. publishers, but that it will still apply to those that they do not contact..

I'm EU based, so was already in compliance with EU law..

[trebuchet]

Leosghost is correct that Google is not obliged to inform every publisher about the EU requirements.

However he/she is wrong to suggest they'll close your account for it. They'll treat it like other forms of non-compliance, issue you a warning and give you a short time to correct it. Instant account closures seem to be reserved for serious infractions like click fraud and tampering with ad code.

[Leosghost]

I said "may"..I did not say "will"..post #4766398

But as you ( in post #4766494 )are saying what Google "will" ( they'll being a contraction of "they will" ) do..

However he/she is wrong to suggest they'll close your account for it. They'll treat it like other forms of non-compliance, issue you a warning and give you a short time to correct it.

So, you have inside information from Google ? presumably if anyone follows your advice, you may offer to compensate those whose accounts may get closed without notice from Google ? That may set some concerned minds to rest..

All depends how lucky one feels I suppose..If I had a six figure per month income from adsense, I for one though, would not bet my account on what any non official Google spokesperson in a web forum, said "they'll" ( when referring to Google ) do..

YMMV ;)

[netmeg]

I have NEVER been contracted by them over this issue and I don't know any U.S. publishers who have. Google can't simply attack their a publishers because they didn't do something that they have absolutely no knowledge of.

They did not contact me, but I asked my rep and was told that the requirement did apply to me if I had even one EU visitor, and I'm located in the US *plus* 99% of my sites are targeted specifically and only to US States. But I still have to comply, because I occasionally get an EU visitor.

I don't think Google likely WILL terminate an account before sending a notice, but they certainly *could* do it. If they wanted to. Pretty sure it's in the TOS that they can terminate for any or no reason. And I suspect if a publisher had a few other borderline issues, this could be the one to push them over the edge.

(P.S. They've terminated other six figure AdSense accounts. Nobody is ever 100% safe, and everybody can be replaced. If you're making that much money, you probably have a rep (whether or not you know it) and you should contact them.)

[Ebuzz]

I've implemented this cookie notice on most of my sites by now and will complete the implementation on all sites by end September.

I just wonder if the consent should be "Implied" or "explicit" - I've chosen "Implied" for all instances. Once they click "Agree" to the notice, the banner disappears for good, and I assume this is it?

Also, is it ok to not have the banner as a sticky, or must it always be a sticky? If the banner is in the footer, it will always be a sticky (until the visitor "agrees"), but if it's in the header, not necessarily.

[netmeg]

I just wonder if the consent should be "Implied" or "explicit" - I've chosen "Implied" for all instances. Once they click "Agree" to the notice, the banner disappears for good, and I assume this is it?

Unless they use another device or browser, I think so.

I don't think it has to be sticky, though almost all the ones I've are sticky.

[ember]

I'm dealing with a lot of old html pages, so if I miss a few and some European stumbles upon one and does not see the notice and I get a warning from Adsense, I am hoping that the warning will specify what the page is that is missing the notice. Otherwise, I am probably toast.

[RedBar]

The ironic thing is that even though I've complied with this thing forever and a day, earnings are so low that I'll most probably be removing all ads on, wait for it, 30th September 2015 ... Arghhh, no chance to see if Google will throw me out:-)

[azlinda]

I have the notice on my WordPress site, but I don't intend to put it on my static site. If Google wants me gone....good. I don't have much use for them anymore.

[Multiverse]

Tough decision. On the one hand, you don't want to annoy your users. On the other hand, you don't want to annoy Google. I guess every webmaster has to make their own decision, what is more important.

My personal approach is like this: I went to the 11 most popular competitors in my industry and made a statistic, how they deal with this. 10 of them are bigger then me, so they have more resources to spend on tackling this issue. Here is the result:

Of the 10 who are bigger then me, 9 use Adsense on their site. 8 of them don't have any type of cookie complience. One of them shows a cookie consent message if you visit their site from a European IP. The message is very much invisible though. They have a huge, complex page and the cookie consent appears sticky on the bottom of the page. After a short moment, the message fades away. So in a practical sense, they don't really have a cookie consent message. Because users will not see it.

The two competitors who don't use Adsense also don't have a cookie complience.

So at the moment, I would be the only one to annoy his users with this.

Will be interesting, if this statistic changes over time.

Maybe, if over 90% of all webmasters keep refusing to use this popup stuff, it might just fade away and be this "crazy idea in 2015" nobody remembers in a few years.

[Sponge_Bob]

does anybody know good script/plugin for wordpress to show this banner cookie only to EU users ?
THanks

[netmeg]

There's a couple of them; go to the WordPress plugin repository and search. Also the Shareaholic social buttons have an option for it too.