EU Cookie Directive

Is Your Website EU Compliant?

Probably not. But don’t panic!

On May 25th 2012, all sites within the Member States of the European Union will be required to be sure that:

“…users be provided with clear and comprehensive information when engaging in any activity which could result in such storage or gaining of access. The methods of providing information and offering the right to refuse should be as user-friendly as possible.”

What does this mean?
This means that any website that gathers visitor information should clearly state what this is and provide an ‘opt-out’. And nearly every website does gather visitor information. Do you use Google Analytics? Yes? Then there is a cookie collecting visitor information, and from May 25 you are breaking the law – in theory.

However, after much delving into this it seems that many in the industry are waiting to see what exactly the law requires. So for the moment it’s a case of what to do and how to do it.

What you need to do
It’s important to have everything in place so that you are showing a willingness to comply and are ready to modify and adjust your strategy to the directive.

1. Update your Privacy Policy page listing the cookies your site is using and what they do.
2. Provide a cookie opt-out system – bt.com have a good example of this on their homepage. See www.bt.com – in the footer.
3. Ensure your web developer/designer/specialist keeps your site up to date as the new regulations are firmed up.

There are certain to be some companies out there who will try to exploit this and tell you that non-compliance will result in a £50,000 fine and you need to act NOW and buy their ‘EU Compliance Package’. All I can say is that the BBC (www.bbc.co.uk) have a Privacy and Cookies page that currently advises you to use your browser to delete any unwanted cookies on their site . . .