EU Cookie law comes into effect May 26th

Withnail

Well-Known Forumite
What I really want to know is..... if you click on a website that has a screen pop up saying you must agree to sharing your cookies ... or it redirects you to Google - are you then likely to head back to Google...

I would have done when i first started using computamawhatsits, as i was (was?) a bit clueless - it wouldn't bother me now.

... and click straight on the website of a competitor who doesn’t show this warning to you?
Thing is, if practically all sites display such a warning, people will get used to it. Either that or confine their browsing to being perpetually redirected to :google: - what fun...
 

Fonzie-NL

Well-Known Forumite
Better still...
Have everybody sign a govermental register BEFORE they are allowed to buy a computer, router, mobile phone, tablet (or anything else that gets you connected to the great outside world), accepting that personal details might get know to other people......
They do it with every known type of thug in the world, so why not internet users.....
 

MyCult

SEO to the FACE
If you read into the EU cookie directive it is a badly drafted piece of online legislation.

A website owner is responsible for all third party cookies on their sites and responsible to describe how the information they gather is used.

So if I have a facebook like button on my site am I supposed to tell people visiting my site how facebook uses that information?! Not to mention GA, Twitter, Pinterest, etc, etc, etc.

It reminds me a lot of the late 90's when making your website accessible to blind/deaf/impaired people became a big thing. That fell out of offline legislation that (correctly) required buildings to be accessible. Sure loads of noise was made about it and companies spent lots of money making their websites accessible but was anyone ever charged? Few ,if any, were ever charged because it's impossible to police. There are sites (BIG Sites) out there now that are not accessible to impaired users. Are those websites being sued by the thousands? No.

The new cookie law probably means a few big sites might get the fine. The legislators will be looking at amazon, ebay and other massive sites. Fining small businesses, stand alone webmasters or even bloggers is ludicrous. I recommend if you are worried put the same bit of code Toble has on his site. (nice find btw Toble)

Toble said:

From here: http://www.civicuk.com/cookie-law/index

Then just wait a few months and see how the powers that be try and (and fail) to enforce this.

I wouldn't be surprised if GA and facebook embed codes get updated to comply with this legislation. A popup that says hey we're {facebook|Google} it's our cookie is that ok? Sure it's not directly in their interest but they want people to keep using analytics and keep putting like buttons on their websites.

In the next few months you'll probably see cookie providers adjusting their systems so out of the box the comply with biscuit law.

2p
 

John Marwood

I ♥ cryptic crosswords
Indeed; that was exactly my response when Toble brought it to my attention. Considering it is going to have potential ramifications for the vast majority of websites out there, one would have thought it was reported more widely!

All of the advice pages I have subsequently read have basically said "Don't worry about it; the Government's own web pages aren't compliant so this is more of a pen-pushing exercise at the moment."

Obviously, I will be keeping a close eye on it to make sure that The Forum is at no risk and follows any applicable guidelines.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18090118

Brilliant!
 

Toble

Well-Known Forumite
In prep for this i've temporarily de-wordpressed a couple of site I deal with pending a real workable solution.
So I'm now using static copied of pages that were previously generated on the fly. Its like 1994 all over again (the year my first website went up).
 

wmrcomputers

Stafford PC & laptop repair specialist
I've been in discussions with weebly (the website hosts I use now) for several days about their use of tracking cookies for statistics purposes, which they weren't even aware of! They are now in discussion with google (who they use for the statistics) and finding a solution (hopefully) for weebly site owners to have a choice of disabling this feature to make their sites cookie compliant.

I'm looking forward to hearing their responses, but if all else fails I've taken measures to simply download my sites and upload them onto some free hosting temporarily rather than needing to display annoying cookie warnings.

Fingers crossed, they're taking this matter seriously and hopefully will enable all weebly site owners a simple "opt out" feature in time for the deadline.
 

Toble

Well-Known Forumite
Using a reseller of Heart, I don't have that problem. All the cookie problems are of my own making. Sorted most out now and reverted the sites.
 

Vault_girl

Well-Known Forumite
I haven't read this whole thread so apologies if this has already been posted but this is a quote from Dave Evans - the group manager for business and industry at the Information Commissioners office (basically the guy in charge of those enforcing the law)
“If all we did was to slap fines on people, we wouldn’t be doing our job properly.
We will enforce the law proportionately. We’ll look at the risks if and when customers complain to us. If a websites’ cookie and privacy is a risk to many people, we may then take action.
There is a balance to be struck though, as not all cookies are equal, and our enforcement approach will bear this in mind.
For example, someone may complain about a cookie placed without their consent, but if it was just used to remember essential details rather than to gather information to be used for marketing purposes, then it may not be appropriate to act.
The first question we will ask is: have you tried to sort this out yourself? If they don’t want a particular cookie, then they could use browser settings or security software to get rid of it.
It’s highly unlikely that organisations will get into trouble because of one cookie or just a few complaints, but we would seek to address any potential issues with the company concerned.
In these situations we would be more likely to provide advice to the organisation. It is unlikely (though not impossible) that we would take action just for analytics cookies.”
So most people I know are not actually going to do anything. And if the government's own websites aren't going to be compliant by the deadline they are going to have a very difficult time enforcing it.​
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
A bit of chat on the BBC here that might be of interest..

The Co-op Bank has this-

"Cookies

Cookies are small pieces of information sent to your computer or browsing device when you access a website. These files are not computer programmes and cannot be used to cause damage to your computer. They are often essential to helping us provide you with a good on-line experience. Some areas of the site may not function correctly without the use of cookies.

We will not use cookies to
  • Store personal information on your hard drive
  • Send personal information to 3rd parties

By accessing this website, you agree that we can place cookies on your device. You can disable cookies completely by changing your browser settings; however some areas of the site will not be accessible or may not function properly. You will not be able to access internet banking if cookies are disabled.

You can find out more about how we use cookies, including how to disable them here."

But you do have to look for it..
 

wmrcomputers

Stafford PC & laptop repair specialist
Hmmmmm.... interesting reading, but still not clear enough to me. I'm reasonably confident that I have nothing to worry about anyway, as weebly are taking actions and telling me just to pass on any complaints I receive directly to them. They are arguing that their hosted sites only use cookies which are essential for site operation. I don't find this STRICTLY to be true, as their stats pages (that tell us how many visitors we have had etc) are using an analytics cookie - but i'll be keeping their emails to prove the conversation i've had with them.
So, in your own interpretations - how does "implied consent" work?? To me, just mentioning cookie use in a privacy policy page with a link to information on how a user can disable cookies permanently should do the trick. Am I wrong to think that?

Either way, I'm glad that some of the responsibility has now been shifted onto the site visitors, as people SHOULD be better educated on these matters in the first place.
 
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