News

Cookies: Bad for you. Cookie Law: Bad for the Web.

Tweet April 2nd, 2012 written by James in News

Would you accept a request from your favourite website asking for your location, personal details and what kind of websites you visit?

Probably not right, but that’s what most pages do automatically without you even knowing it. In fact, over 92% of websites use these files, or ‘cookies’ as a way of remembering you and where you’ve been clicking. They are hugely useful to make your online experience faster and more efficient.  If you’re shopping, products that might be of use to you will appear, or if you’re wondering what the weather will be at the weekend, the website already knows your location.

Statistical reporting is another use of cookies. Anyone who wants to monitor how many people are going to their site, for how long and what they’re clicking on need this data. For marketing and advertising companies this is vital for judging the success or failure of their campaigns.

This was the subject of a presentation by Chris Bland, Client Services Director at Greenlight Search at the Figaro Digital conference on Thursday 26^th March.

In May 2011, a new law originating from the EU was passed that requires website owners to ask permission from you to gather and use this information. Denmark and Estonia were the only ones to actually implement this, and the UK gave us year’s grace period.

So, from May 25^th 2012 the websites will not only, have to inform users about the cookies that are in place, but ask permission to use them.

If the page owner chooses not to bother asking and just leaving it the way it’s been running previously, the ICO (Information Commissioners Office) have the power to fine them up to £500,000! Incidentally, the ICO website is one of the only sites to already have the acceptance form on.

In the EU ePrivacy Directive report by Econsultancy, the Chairman of Cambridge-based consultancy IT Governance, Alan Calder, said “Most people running business-to-consumer websites take the view that the requirement will damage their Google rating by forcing them to use pop-ups,” he said. “And it will put consumers off by getting them to sign up for something they don’t really understand, in a complicated two-step process when Web designers have worked hard over the years to bring down the number of steps users need to go through.”

Calder advised website owners to, at the very least, do a cookie audit before the May 26 deadline. “That way you are not ignoring the law,” he said. “The ICO is unlikely to impose a fine on companies that are at least showing they are willing and thinking about the issue.”

Would being asked to gather information put you off a website, even though they’ve been doing it for years? Do you think this is going to be impossible to police due to the infinitely increasing number of websites or will you blindly accept any terms and conditions that get in the way of you and your favourite sites?

Let us know in the comment form below or via our @puregenie Twitter. Don’t forget to join our LinkedIn group – home of Digital jobs, E-commerce positions and Online careers, as well as Digital Recruitment news and Job hunting tips.

4 comments

4 Comments

1. 

   by Richard Beaumont on 2-4-2012

   It is true that in the short term, and in isolation, asking people to allow cookies is likely to be off-puting to consumers.

   However, I think there will be a powerful network effect on behaviour when suddenly lots of websites are asking the same thing.

   People will quickly adapt. They will also become more aware of what is going on, and start to make more informed decisions. It is perfectly possible that people will begin to better trust websites that do comply with the law, than those that don’t – because it puts them better in control of their data.

   I think the law will in the long term create a better web for everybody, and blogged about this back in November: http://www.cookielaw.org/blog/2011/11/3/can-the-cookie-law-build-a-better-web.aspx

2. 

   by James - Puregenie Digital Recruitment on 2-4-2012

   Thanks Richard. I hope you’re right. I think it’ll be like having that little padlock in the corner of a secure website. Now people take it for granted, or are a bit happier in the knowledge that they’re a little less at risk.
   -James

3. 

   by thomas Barfod on 2-4-2012

   what is a cookie audit?

4. 

   by James - Puregenie Digital Recruitment on 2-4-2012

   Hi Thomas,

   A ‘Cookie Audit’ is a task that all website owners will have to do to organise themselves for this new legislation.

   The main points to look out for are:
   -How many cookies are in use on your site
   -What they do

   There are a number of free Cookie auditing software programs available, as well as plenty of companies offering to provide the service for a fee.

   James -
   Puregenie Digital Recruitment