EU Cookie Law

[Soquili]

Steve I know this is a serious matter. My point is the widget being used is the best place to put any code to request permission to allow a cookie. The widget contains the code to push a cookie onto a visitor's computer and should trigger the request. Simply placing a popup will not prevent an existing widget from pushing out a cookie.

A new widget is required and the creator of the widget must be required to include the code to make a request and then abide by the viewer's response.

This is not something you can put into a placeholder or popup layer as a standalone addition to anything that creates a cookie.


If you place any cookie creating widget/code on a page without any other content you can have the link to the page trigger a popup or intermediary page requesting permission to place a cookie. Then your popup or intermediary page must either proceed to the where the cookie will be created or return to the previous page.

[handrawn]

Sure Bill - I don't build websites, but I know about the law for other reasons, I just wanted to emphasise that this is something a lot of visitors reading this might be unaware of

In fact the [UK] law has been in place since May 2011; the May 2012 deadline is simply the ending of a 1 year period of grace before enforcement begins; I feel a lot of people may well get caught out

When it come to the technical nitty gritty I leave that up to you and sledger and the other technical experts

[Cloud]

Been experimenting all day on this and managed to find the best one and managed to make it work quite easily. It involves pasting the code, uploading a .js file to your server, pointing the code to the location of the .js file and that's it. handrawn is right it has been in place for a year but a lot of people will get caught out, why take the risk. It is now on my website and I have made the relevant changes to my privacy policy. If any one needs help on this please let me know as this is very important, especially if you do websites for other people as they will want to know why you have not done this to their site.

And Bill it turns out that everyone seems to be going done the widget route with some added files, this code that I used is being used by the Scottish Government site so I assume it is the right way to go.

The link to my site to check it out working is www.sketchprinting.com and the site to get the code, .js file and instructions is http://www.civicuk.com/cookie-law/index

The service is free. The best way to find out what cookies are installed on your site is to do a cookie audit, the best one I have found is an add on for google chrome from these guys http://www.attacat.co.uk/resources/c...#axzz1uZUmzvs5 just make sure that only the tab with the site you want to audit is open, again this is free.

As I said any problems then please let me know

[Drwyd]

Apparently we have to get our visitors to opt in to cookies before we can use google analytics

From www.civicuk.com

While most websites will be able to comply with a few simple tweaks to their code and the application of Cookie Control, some third party apps will be badly affected.

Google Analytics is estimated to run on 90% of websites. As an entirely cookie-based analytics solution it is not compliant with the legislation without the provision of explicit consent by website users. When the ICO tested this on their own site, only 10% of users actually opted into the service.

Obviously, an analytics package that only tracks 10% of users is hardly of use at all. Google's silence on this problem has been deafening. We can speculate that they're hoping the ICO will approve a global opt-in that will be valid across all Google services, or that an exemption will be made in the case of analytics. But in the absence of any solution from Google, webmasters may have to find an alternative analytics solution that doesn't depend on cookies.

Websites dependent on sales from advertising will be harder hit. At the moment scripts from some ad networks deposit cookies in order to personalise ads on websites that users visit later. It's difficult to see how this functionality will survive when explicit consent is required in order to make it work.

[Cloud]

The following code allows you to deploy google analytics after the consent

<script type="text/javascript">
function ccAddAnalytics(){
$.getScript('http://www.google-analytics.com/ga.js', function() {
var GATracker = _gat._createTracker('UA-XXXXXXX-X');
GATracker._trackPageview();
} );
};
</script>

Change the green text to the google analytics Id

The instructions are on the following link http://www.civicuk.com/cookie-law/deployment

[Drwyd]

Cheers Sketch

It looks like SEO and UX in the EU is going to be a lot harder good news for the rest of the global digital economy though

I suspect that most people, when encountering a pop up that is requesting access to their PC, will either say no or go elsewhere.

[Cloud]

I was talking to a concerned client who has a few online businesses and after his web designer (we just do a brochure website for him, as he needs to quite complicated shopping carts - drop shipping, affliates etc) put the notice up on his sites in march he has seen a 30% drop in sales. I can only imagine what the idiots who brought this in were thinking. hopefully they will cave in to pressure from the larger online businesses and google, facebook, twitter etc and this will help the rest of us.

Ignorance is bliss, people just don't mind having their stats viewed by analytics and facebook etc until someone points out that it is potentially illegal, and unfortunately it seems the websites themselves have to point out what they are doing.

[Cloud]

The worst thing i have seen concerning this is from the well intentioned heart internet, they give you a widget which gives the option of clicking yes to the use of cookies - in which case you stay on the site, or if you click no it re-directs you to google, perhaps to look for a competitor who does not have the cookie warning, this just blew my mind. Being punished for following the law.

[Drwyd]

Guidance from the ICO (Information Commissioners Office) ... And they call this guidance ??????

We only use analytical cookies – if nobody consents that will seriously restrict the amount of information we can get to improve and develop our website

The Regulations do not distinguish between cookies used for analytical activities and those used for other purposes. We do not consider analytical cookies fall within the ‘strictly necessary’ exception criteria. This means in theory websites need to tell people about analytical cookies and gain their consent.

In practice we would expect you to provide clear information to users about analytical cookies and take what steps you can to seek their agreement. This is likely to involve making the argument to show users why these cookies are useful. Although the Information Commissioner cannot completely exclude the possibility of formal action in any area, it is highly unlikely that priority for any formal action would be given to focusing on uses of cookies where there is a low level of intrusiveness and risk of harm to individuals. Provided clear information is given about their activities we are highly unlikely to prioritise first party cookies used only for analytical purposes in any consideration of regulatory action.

[Miko]

I have been following this thread with interest and wondered about Links to other websites. Would I be liable for cookies being sent out if a visitor clicks on a link from my website? I appreciate that the other website owner is liable for tier own site but I just wondered about a visitor clicking a link on your website.