UK business must not delay EU cookie rules preparation, warns the ICO - 3/8/2011. Tuesday 08 March 2011 09:32 UK businesses must thinking seriously about how they will comply with new EU E-Privacy laws, despite delays in the formulation of government guidelines, says the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).
The warning comes after the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) admitted that guidelines on what businesses must do to comply with the new directive will not be ready before the 25 May enforcement date. The directive will require businesses to obtain explicit consent from web users who are being tracked using text files commonly known as "cookies". The directive also requires that businesses inform website users about the information being stored in cookies and how that is used to determine which adverts they see. In a statement, culture minister Ed Vaizey said he recognised that the delay would cause uncertainty for businesses and consumers. Email Alerts Register now to receive ComputerWeekly.com IT-related news, guides and more, delivered to your inbox. UK passes buck on Europe's cookie law with copy-paste proposal. High performance access to file storage Opinion The government has let businesses down by refusing to clarify a law on cookies that has privacy regulators and advertisers at loggerheads, leaving publishers languishing in the middle, unsure whether their advertising is lawful or not.
This week the government had the chance, when transposing EU law into UK law, to find a way to provide UK firms with much-needed clarity, but it passed it up. Instead it will write Brussels-authored confusion into UK law, word for word. OUT-LAW reported yesterday that the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) has launched a consultation on its plans for implementing a suite of five EU Directives, known collectively as the European Electronic Communications Framework.
One of these Directives amends the existing Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications. The EU law is not just bad for business: it is bad for consumers too. This is a muddle. UK / Business - UK gives warning on EU ‘cookie’ directive. EU cookie directive to come into force in the UK next month. From 25 May, the EU has dictated that users must give consent for websites to track them, prompting a big cookie shake-up.
Of course cookies are currently widely used to help users find sites they frequent regularly, while websites use them to track visitors and tailor ads to people's personal preferences. However, all this could change from 25 May when a European law comes into force that says web users must give ‘explicit consent' to being tracked via cookies, The BBC reported. Businesses are reportedly being encouraged to work out ways they will get consent ahead of the European e-Privacy directive so they can keep using cookies. Apparently the cookie changes are designed to protect privacy and limit the extent that firms can tap into behavioural advertising. The directive reportedly says that users must be informed about what information is stored in cookies and also told why they see particular adverts. Government working on browser solution for new cookie law, says spokesman.
The Government has also insisted that the EU Directive will become UK law by the May deadline, despite a warning from the Information Commissioner that it was unlikely to take effect until autumn.
The EU law will force companies to obtain 'explicit consent' from web users before they make use of cookies, small files placed in a user's browser containing details of their web use. It has been unclear whether the Government would force companies to ask users outright for their permission or whether the fact that a browser is set to accept cookies can be taken as consent. A spokesman for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) told OUT-LAW.COM that it was working on a browser-based solution. "We are working with browser manufacturers to find a way to enhance browser settings so that they can obtain the necessary consent to meet the Directive's standards," said the spokesman.
"We wait to see how this is going to be transformed into UK law.