Tag icon Cookies, Privacy
Cookie Monster cupcake eating a cookie

Next Saturday 26th May sees the year long amnesty of the new EU cookie law come to an end.  What this essentially means is that if you store non-essential cookies on your users' computers then you will need to implement some sort of mechanism that obtains explicit permission from your users.

What are Cookies and Non-Essential Cookies

A cookie is a small file containing data pertaining to a user that is left on the user's computer by a website they have visited, which can then be retrieved at later date by the same website.  They are used for a wide range of things, including keeping you logged into a website across multiple visits, storing the contents of your shopping cart and tracking your journey through the site.

A non-essential cookie is a cookie that is not essential to the proper functioning of the website.  Out of the three examples that I provided above, the first two would be deemed as essential cookies, however the last example would not.  Essentially, if you use cookies to track visitors to your site, then you will need to implement this feature.  How do you know if you are using cookies to track visitors to your site?  Well, if you use Google Analytics, Google AdWords, Google AdSense or any form of current affiliate scheme then, you guessed it, you are using cookies to track visitors to your site.

And the Implications?

This law has huge implications for how we track visitors and target advertising on the web.  Overnight, some of the most useful reporting features of Google Analytics and AdWords will become useless.  No longer will we be able to rely on conversion statistics for Google AdWords, which in turn will impact our ability to see which keywords are driving the conversions.  No longer will we be able to track a website's bounce rate, or the % returning visitors.

The affiliate marketing industry must be quaking in their boots, as their entire revenue model is based on cookies.  Moving forwards it will be based on a user explicitly accepting cookies which, given the bad press cookies have had recently, will probably be a very small proportion of the users on the web.

The Reality of the Situation...

The reality is that, come next Saturday, only a very small percentage of the websites in the EU will have implemented this feature.  The view from most online commentators is that the ICO (who are responsible for this) will likely seek to prosecute a handful of large scale, offending websites, with a view to putting in place some precedent cases.

This means there are really three options for web owners across the EU:

  • Do nothing and wait to see what pans out over the coming months.  The chances are you won't get prosecuted, and once this legislation has been tried in a court of law it may change for the better
  • Partially comply - provide a detailed cookie policy on your website, but don't require explicit opt in.  This would place you in the 'least likely to be busted' group of offenders
  • Comply in full - this will ensure your safety, but it will have an impact on your ability to track your digital campaigns

Are the Channel Isles Included?

One question that I have raised and will be researching in more detail is that, as the Channel Isles are outside of the EU, does this law extend into our region?  Without proper legal advice I couldn't really comment on this, but this may well be the case.

Further Reading

Various Implementations of this Requirement

 

 

Edit - 28/05/12

At the last minute, the ICO have eased their stance considerably and are now saying that implied consent is fine.  Find out more here - http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/may/26/cookies-law-changed-implied-consent

 

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