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

[vegasrick]

The easiest solution that I've found, and FREE, is the below URL. It is also the least annoying (it's almost not there). A lot of EU based website use the below. Once Adsense notifies me to make this change, which they have not, I'll use the below but have it coded to GEO target EU users only.

http://app.cookieassistant.com/

[edited by: martinibuster at 2:07 pm (utc) on Jul 30, 2015]

[piatkow]

Anyway, AdSense non-earnings are so little for me now that I couldn't give a monkey's about their attitude towards me .. please, ban me Google, I don't earn in 24 HOURS now what the minimum WAGE per hour is in the UK!

Same here although I haven't had the email.
As implimented in the UK consent is implicit and I have a notice on my website. Explicit consent is a Google requirement not an EU one. Naturally the Google blog itself relies on implicit consent so do as G says not as G does.

[Sheqel]

You can't send an essential cookie to people who don't accept cookies. They don't accept the essential ones either.

Consent is only required for non-essential cookies. I would say the preference for storing non-essential cookies is rather essential.

[futuresky]

The entire cookie law is ridculous, and google forcing this even moreso. If tinfoil people don't want cookies they can turn them off in their browser.

[vordmeister]

To be fair to Google they have probably been threatened with yet another multi-million dollar fine. If I were Google in that situation I would do what they are doing - force publishers to comply and expose the madness.

Given the intention of the law is to help tin foil hat people we should make an effort to make the changes least painful to them. Current technology if we use pop ups will make it really painful for those guys unless we make them accept cookies. There is no way other than cookies to save tin hat people from constant pop up annoyance..

I am wondering whether it has to be a pop up. I have found no official guidance on actual implementation. Maybe some wording in the footer like a link to 'privacy policy' might be OK? That would get around the tin foil hat people problem and I'm sure the EU would really appreciate our effort.

[threesixandnine]

I wouldn't use that app.cookieassistant.com mentioned earlier by vegasrick because it adds invisible link to your <body>

[jetteroheller]

What's about a "stop annoying me campaign"? I am angry about each web site asking me for cookie allowence.

Why not write each webmaster an email

"Do not annoy me with this idiotic cookie question

I will never click on this button, because when I do not want cookies, I can set this in my browser.
So why do You bother me with this idiotic cookie question? Just stop this nonsense"

Let's make a big campaign out of it, big enough to impress this EU dictatorship.

[lowlow]

So can implied consent still be used i.e. "if you continue you agree, if not, leave" - or do we have to remove ads if the tin-foil-hat wearers are scared of ad cookies?

[kireb]

Anyone suggestion for a simple 'implied consent' script with GEO functions? 90% of my traffic comes from non EU countries and why bother them with this?

Also, whats next? Thailand wants a pop up to warn visitors that your content might be sensitive to their military regime over or 112 laws? Dubai wants a warning when you are describing components of their endless list of illegal substances such as poppy seed buns? Religious content warnings? Homosexuality in Indonesia or Malaysia? Warning of woman wearing a t-shirt rather than a burka in Saudi Arabia?

This whole thing will open a can of worms.

[lowlow]

Hi Kireb, exactly, EU won't be able to argue with other ridiculous demands either as they've imposed this. I can only imagine in a few years time having to physically sign documents before seeing any content. The easiest route would be with your ISP, sign a ONE-off document that says "I am aware most sites use cookies, may contain peanuts, AND I am aware of how to disable cookies completely or for individual websites"

[martinibuster]

I wouldn't use that app.cookieassistant.com mentioned earlier by vegasrick because it adds invisible link to your <body

It's not an invisible link. It's a JavaScript call to download their widget code. However there is a visible link that is printed in the pop-up. Similar to most "free" widgets like AddThis, there's going to be a link to another site to download files plus sometimes a visible link to the provider. It's up to you to decide if this is what you want or you can find or code one that his hosted on your site.

There are plenty scripts for pop-ups for this purpose, most script resources have them for sale for a minimal price.

[Badger37]

Re. app.cookieassistant.com
This script (along with many others) doesn't appear to allow Cookies to be stopped which is what Google are asking for - this makes things quite a bit trickier!


From Google's cookiechoices.org

"So if you're using third party advertising services, such as Google AdSense, you'll need to take steps to integrate your preferred solution with the advertising tags on your pages to make sure your users' preferences are respected. Each vendor offers instructions or support services for doing this. If you don't follow these steps for all the tags on your pages, you risk misleading your users: they will think they’re switching off advertising cookies when in fact advertising cookies will still be used. Therefore, test carefully any implementation of these tools on your own site."

As others are saying it seems Google might be testing the water.
Surely if they are serious about every AdSense publisher doing this they would be helping them more OR changing their own Cookie usage to make AdSense work for the EU?

If they leave things as they are and start banning none compliant websites they'll end up doing serious damage to their own ad business!?

Hopefully things will become clearer but it's a mess at the moment...
Some more info from Google would be nice!

[dolcevita]

Is there any other way to show Adsense without sending cookie?I mean script that allow showing of Adsense and in the same time prevent Adsense of sending cookie until visitor approve or disapprove. I think That Adsense works fine with browser not accepting any kind of cookie.So there should be probably script allowing dispaying od Adsense to visitor and in the same time prevent sending of Adsense cookie until visitor approve or disapprove.

[threesixandnine]

It's not an invisible link. It's a JavaScript call to download their widget code. However there is a visible link that is printed in the pop-up. Similar to most "free" widgets like AddThis, there's going to be a link to another site to download files plus sometimes a visible link to the provider. It's up to you to decide if this is what you want or you can find or code one that his hosted on your site.

There are plenty scripts for pop-ups for this purpose, most script resources have them for sale for a minimal price.

No, it's not a call to javascript. It's link infused below javascript. Try it for yourself. Generate the code and you'll see it prominently there in pure html. Generate a few times and you'll see different sites it links to. I tested the code and it work without these links so all good huh. I wish they only told their users that the code will infuse hidden link.
I found three sites that it links to : popstrap.com, ranktrackr.com and cookieassistant.com

When I installed it and tried I didn't see the link to these sites but it was in the code. I might be missing something here though.

[charvel]

Regarding UK's stance where implied consent is acceptable, I think Google's policy wording is sufficiently (and deliberately?) vague enough to accept implied consent.

"obtain consent to, any data collection, sharing and usage" - As implied consent is acceptable in the UK, a message stating that the site uses cookies and that you accept this by using it, satisfies what google is asking for. The wording obviously means something different for sites in/targeting other parts of the EU, so in my mind it's saying "adhere to the rules of your location"

I'm guessing google checks where your site is targeting and decides if an email is required, I can't believe for a second that the EU has, or ever will have, the influence to make all american sites display a message on a site that targets american traffic but happens to get some EU visitors. The only way to control that would be to do what China/North Korea does.

[dolcevita]

All my sites targeting USA but i live in EU.85% of traffic come from USA but i have received email as probably all others from EU.Email from a couple days a go does not check where from come traffic to your website but where You live.They guess That your site Is probably targeting There where You live.But apart from That cookie rules Is for any website anywhere in the world which have visitors from EU.I guess That even if You have 1 visitor from EU rule apply to your website.

[dolcevita]

And a couple note about GEO filtering.I run one of the biggest site dedicated to finding and looking to locations based on IP adresses and i Can tell You That filtering countries based on location Never cover 100% all visitors from certain country or continent.IP address and IP ranges are dynamical and they may change not only state or city but sometime whole continent.So even if You décide to block EU You Can still except at least a couple hundred visitors from EU each month and You Will also block some innocent visitors from continent which do not belong to EU.

[kireb]

What will be the chance that Google itself gives us some script to handle this issue? I mean its about their cookies.

[piatkow]

I can't believe for a second that the EU has, or ever will have, the influence to make all american sites display a message on a site that targets american traffic but happens to get some EU visitors.

This isn't you complying with EU law, it is about complying with a change to the Adsense ToS.

[vordmeister]

I've just had a reply from my European Member of Parliament. Among other things he believes that 'zombie cookies' replicate and send out information from your computer, and that cookies can steal your banking data. I have replied to try to correct a few points.

It is frightening that they don't know what a cookie is, and perhaps even more frightening they believe malicious websites will provide a clear privacy policy before sending a virus.

If you are in Europe it might be worth writing to your Euro MP Nothing will happen (it's Europe) but if we can educate our MPs at a local level they might at least make the next stupid law a bit less stupid.