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Today is that day that new European legislation comes into force which defines what details a website can store about its visitors in text files which are commonly known as Cookies.
If you’re not familiar with the purpose of a Cookie, it allows various websites to collect information about you which can be used to aid the site in offering you content that it thinks would be more suitable, and in some cases more specifically targeted advertising.
Although the 26th of May is the date that the law comes into effect, it’s though that in the UK alone there are still thousands of websites are in breach of the law. This is due to them not implementing new regulations which say sites must get “informed content” form users before it can record information in the form of Cookies.
The vast majority of websites in the UK have complied with the new legislation, which is usually done by showing a pop-up window that explains the changes in the law. In most cases it will also contain information about what Cookies are, it will also ask users to consent to allow information to be recorded and also details what will happen if users refuse.
It’s quite surprising that a lot of UK websites are still not complying with these new regulations, after all they have had around 12 months to implement the changes. However, the Information Commissioner’s Office has said it would offer to help non-compliant websites instead of taking legal action against them.
Along with advising firms on how to implement the new laws, the ICO will also be helping users who what more information about cookies, along with how to change cookie settings within their browsers and how to complain against a website if a user is concerned with its privacy policy.
Let us know your thoughts on our comments below or via our @Gadget_Helpline Twitter page or Official Facebook group.
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