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Does your website comply with the new Cookie Law?

19th April 2012

Almost all websites use “cookies” to function correctly, but from May 2012 all UK websites must obtain consent to do so from visitors. The new “Cookie Law” is rather bewildering, but Hiltonian Media is here to help. Read on to find out how the new law affects your organisation and what you need to do to comply.

Cookies are small text files stored by visitors’ web browsers, allowing websites to keep track of people as they navigate to different pages. They are most often used for logins, e-commerce shopping baskets, website analytics, behavioural advertising, social media plugins, and much more besides.

However, the new law, more formally known as The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003, requires websites to obtain consent to use cookies and provide detailed information to visitors about how they are used. Websites failing to comply could face a fine of up to £500,000.

In practice, we think compliance with the legislation can be achieved in three stages:

  • Performing an audit to determine to what extent your website uses cookies
  • Writing a statement to inform visitors how your website uses cookies
  • Deploying a mechanism for obtaining consent.

There is much confusion surrounding how best to obtain consent, but Hiltonian Media believes that this greatly depends on the extent to which cookies are used. For example, a website simply using cookies for analytics or login functionality may choose to display a popup box the first time someone visits a page on their site advising them that cookies are used. However, a website that uses cookies for behavioural advertising may need to provide a mechanism for visitors to refuse such cookies.

To help guide you through all of this, Hiltonian Media has put together the following package for website owners:

  • A cookie audit of up to 50 pages — £150
  • Writing a cookie statement — £75
  • Implementing a consent mechanism — from £55 (depending on your website complexity and use of cookies)

As we are not lawyers, we can only provide advice based on our understanding of the new law. If you are concerned about strict compliance, we suggest that you consult a legal practitioner.  (Prices exclude VAT)

If you are interested, call us now on +44 191 303 8 403, or email enquiries@hiltonian.com.

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