How prepared is your business for the new cookie laws that came into force on 26 May 2012? The BBC reported that thousands of websites were in breach of the new cookie law (including the BBC and the Government), which dictates what they can log about visitors.
Last year the European Union passed new online privacy regulations, which prohibited all websites across the EU from obtaining and storing user information.
The new regulation means that websites must now give users the option to opt out of having cookies stored on their machine. If they don’t want their data tracked, they can opt out, and it appears many websites have already broken these new laws. Websites were given 12 months from the 26 May 2023 to comply with these new laws, which mean that any website not doing so as of Saturday is now in breach!
Interestingly, thousands of websites have not yet managed to fully comply, and it is interesting to see what avenue they take when they do eventually implement these new regulations onto their site. We are working on our full compliance solution and have ensured all core functionality continues to work if cookies are disabled. What will the majority of businesses go with though, an opt in box/pop up or run with implied consent? It seems to us, that implied consent would allow a vast majority of activities that take place at the moment to continue.
I think it is fair to say that the majority of people don’t really know what cookies are or what they do, and this legislation does feel a bit like scaremongering. These announcements that will need to be placed on websites are likely to unnerve users, and the impact of this on internet traffic will be interesting to see.
Most businesses use cookies to enhance customer usability, for example saving previous search history to save time in future searches. It feels like adding pop-ups or boxes onto websites will be another layer that consumers and users will have to jump through before they can continue with their activity.
The ICO has said that it will be offering help to non-compliant sites rather than taking legal action against them, it has also issued guidance to the public that explains what cookies are, how to change cookie settings and how to complain if they are worried about a site’s policy.
Implementing these changes onto websites isn’t a quick win. It isn’t an easy task for businesses to undertake, the decisions of how to ask for consent, implementing that and making sure it comes into full effect takes time. It requires planning and development.
What the ICO has said, is that if websites can demonstrate that they have:
- Taken some steps already
- That there is a realistic plan in place for completion
…then the ICO will work with businesses to make sure that this is delivered and in the right way. Northern Rock and HSBC are leading the way as they have already implemented the new regulations and to good effect in our opinion.
So as a business, what impact have these changes had on your business websites, if any? How can you make sure that these changes are fully implemented into your website and how can you demonstrate that you are working towards being fully compliant?
