Cookie Consent - Are You Prepared?

The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) (Amendment) Regulations 2011, which came into force on 26 May 2011, made changes to the rules that apply to websites using cookies and similar technologies to remember a user’s preferences. Whereas previously websites were required to provide information about cookies they used and tell visitors to the site how they could ‘opt out’, the new rules require that websites wanting to use cookies gain the visitor’s consent in most cases.

Guidance published by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at that time stated that organisations would be allowed 12 months to make sure they complied with the new rules regarding cookies.

Speaking at a recent Westminster eForum event on digital marketing, Christopher Graham, the Information Commissioner, warned that half of this grace period has now elapsed, and not enough is being done by website owners and advertisers to prepare for the changes.

The Government has held talks with browser makers to establish whether privacy options could be built in to browsers to aid compliance with the new rules, thus allowing most websites to infer reasonable consent. However, Mr Graham is of the opinion that a browser-based solution will be no ‘silver bullet’ and added that ‘the devil will be in the detail’.

The ICO has now published new guidance on this issue that includes examples of good practice and details of where the ICO expects the regulatory focus to be when the grace period expires at the end of May 2012.

Mr Graham has said that there will not be a ‘wave of knee-jerk formal enforcement actions taken against those who are not yet compliant but are trying to get there’.

Click here for a general guide to complying with e-commerce law.