All things digital marketing, social media, chat online, SEO, SEM and mobile related experiences. I have been working in digital since 1997. Occasionally I'll write about girlie things - chocolate, cupcakes, fashion, travel and yoga. Passionate about animal welfare and trying to live an organic lifestyle.
The postings on this site are my own and do not represent Juniper Networks’ positions, strategies or opinions. Note that the views and opinions expressed are mine alone and do not represent the official views of Juniper Networks.
Copyright 2012 Zoe Sands
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EU Cookie Monster Legislation - site owners required to make changes to websites
As you may or may not know the EU law has recently changed on how organisations can collect information about users using cookies within the European Union. Note that the UK government has provided a grace period of 12 months for organisations to implement this change in legislation, the new extended deadline is May 2012 for UK sites. The ICO has issued advice and guidance on how to comply with the new law:
ICO Guidance
1. Check what type of cookies and similar technologies you use and how you use them.
2. Assess how intrusive your use of cookies is.
3. Decide what solution to obtain consent will be best in your circumstances.
According to various media reports states that as long as UK website owners are working towards compliance they should not be fined within the 12 month grace period (until May 2012).
This new law will have implications for data collection and website functionality offered, for example, behavioural targeting and simply remembering site logins.
See the below example of how the ICO is leading by example with a statement issued at the top of all its web pages requesting consent:
Copy start…
On 26 May 2011, the rules about cookies on websites changed. This site uses cookies. One of the cookies we use is essential for parts of the site to operate and has already been set. You may delete and block all cookies from this site, but parts of the site will not work. To find out more about cookies on this website and how to delete cookies, see our privacy notice.
I accept cookies from this site
Copy end…
I can’t help but think we are going back to the dark ages and limiting the online user experience with this new legislation. The majority of organisations use cookies in a responsible manner. This is yet another example where a law has been passed, which can’t really be enforced unless the governments across the EU enforce service providers to take action on offending websites by insisting that they withdraw hosting and Internet access rights to offending organisations. We will have to see how this legislation is implemented by organisations in the coming 12 months.
