Clarification on EU Cookies Law

Tilluss · 31 May 2011 at 15:24

I'm just looking for a bit of clarification on the new EU cookies law.

Is it true that you only have to notify the user if 3rd party cookies are being used? So for example ad's, google analytics etc need to notify the user, but for essential site functions (login, basket ID etc) you don't need to notify the user?

This law seems really really dumb and unenforceable to me, but I'm looking for clarification just in case.

Thanks.

Xelene · 31 May 2011 at 15:31

Tilluss said:
Is it true that you only have to notify the user if 3rd party cookies are being used?

It's not true. If you set any of your own cookes that aren't strictly neccessary for the requested service then that also needs notification.

It's a ridiculous law.

fez · 31 May 2011 at 16:34

Its a law that will never take effect for that very reason. This is what happens when you let uninformed ***** make policy. There was a website a while back showing the hoops a lot of site would have to jump through to be legal and it was ming boggling.

Tilluss · 1 Jun 2011 at 08:35

What gets me is the ICO website itself can't completely comply with it's own law, so I really don't know how some websites are going to be able to comply.

Do you think anyone is actually going to take any notice and comply to it?

Xelene · 1 Jun 2011 at 09:37

Tilluss said:
What gets me is the ICO website itself can't completely comply with it's own law, so I really don't know how some websites are going to be able to comply.

Do you think anyone is actually going to take any notice and comply to it?

Big companies with legal departments sure. Other companies, not so much.

Just argue that the cookie is essential towards providing the service. Ad cookies are essential to provide a revenue stream to pay for operational costs. Analytics cookies are essential to understand the site usage and provide the best service for an end user. It's just one of those stupid laws that's deliberately wide in scope with the intention being to be able to apply it to those that are behaving nefariously. But as we know with these kind of laws, they will just gradually get applied on a wider and wider basis outside the scope of the original intention.