Categories: Web

Still awaiting guidance on the EU Cookie Directive

Oliver Emberton, owner of SilkTide – a website analysis company, has produced this 2.5 minute video to explain the controversial EU cookie directive, which was supposed to come into law across the 27 member states in May this year.

Credit: SilkTide

Read more about the Cookie Directive here.

According to the directive websites in the EU must ask for users’ permission before placing a cookie on their computer.  Although the directive is designed to guarantee user privacy some argue it goes too far and effectively makes a common and predominantly harmless technology illegal.

A cookie is a text file which websites use to store information; such as site preferences, track users; and serve ads.  Although somewhat emotive the video explains the confusion surrounding the directive well.

The UK was one of only three countries to bring in a law based on the directive, although as Emberton reports, the UK governing body will not prosecute sites which continue to use cookies without asking the user’s permission until May 2012.

In Ireland William Fry Solicitors have been pursuing the country’s Data Protection Commissioner for clarifications since the end of May, following the Office’s announcement that it would publish guidelines into the Irish interpretation of the directive. An announcement from the solicitors’ office published on May 31 said,

“The new provisions have raised concerns amongst website operators who fear the practical implications of having to obtain user consent each time a cookie is placed on a user’s computer. All interested parties will be keeping a close eye on how the new legislation transposing the Cookie Directive will be worded and interpreted in Ireland. The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner has stated that it will publish guidance in order to assist relevant parties in complying with the new provisions.”

https://twitter.com/WFIDEA/status/81667785939365888″ data-datetime=”2011-06-17T10:21:32+00:00

Some three weeks since the article’s publication no guidance has been issued by the Data Protection Office and the situation is still somewhat confused; the country’s Department of Communications, has also not issued guidance on the matter itself – even though its own site still uses Google Analytics.  Ireland’s communications regulator, Comreg, which also uses Google Analytics on its site, further muddies the water by describing cookies as a “type of spyware…[that] provide important functionality for Internet websites and are used for legitimate marketing purposes.”

We’ll have more as soon as the Commissioner publishes guidance.

Story via Arekibo Digital | SilkTide | William Fry

Ajit Jain

Ajit Jain is marketing and sales head at Octal Info Solution, a leading iPhone app development company and offering platform to hire Android app developers for your own app development project. He is available to connect on Google Plus, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Recent Posts

MWC 2025 Barcelona was the ultimate experiential marketing dream

Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona is the biggest annual event in the mobile technology…

2 days ago

GAN, Tec de Monterrey partnership highlights cross-border startup ecosystem building in Latin America amid trade dispute

Despite recent tensions between the United States government and Latin American countries over migration and…

6 days ago

This founder started out with US $5K to his name. Now, he owns a multi-million-dollar global business

Meet Nitin Seth, the Co-Founder and CEO of Screen Magic (SMS Magic), a messaging leader…

6 days ago

Building smarter: AI, the ultimate tool transforming an old-age industry

In this Brains Byte Back, we sit down with Hari Vasudevan, founder and CEO of…

6 days ago

When AI Goes Rogue: 8 Lessons from Implementing LLMs in the Healthcare Industry that Could Save the Future

By Santosh Shevade, Principal Data Consultant at Gramener – A Straive company All pharmaceutical companies…

1 week ago

Digital Public Infrastructure will enable public, private entities to control your access to essential goods, services & mobility

Digital Public Infrastructure is a top-down agenda coming from unelected globalists, bureaucrats, and their partners…

2 weeks ago