Stupid EU cookie law will hand the advantage to the US, kill our startups stone dead. As if European startups weren’t already at a notional disadvantage in addressing smaller markets, having access to less venture capital and being geographically spread out, a new EU-wide law proposes to hobble its innovation companies by slapping big privacy warning signs all over their sites. From 25 May, new European laws will dictate that “explicit consent” must be gathered from web users who are being tracked via cookies. That translates into warnings which will put off consumers from EU sites, while US-based startups will be free to continue as they are.
How convenient huh. Although businesses are being urged to work out how they gain ‘consent’ from users, this is bound to cause consternation. The new European e-Privacy directive is supposedly to protect privacy, although seems to be operating in a bubble. Plus there is massive competition in browsers already, so its not as if consumers need even more protection. Techcrunch event San Francisco | October 13-15, 2026. The EU's legal war on cookies is barking mad. This is a guest post from Milo Yiannopoulos, technology columnist for the Telegraph. New regulations, which come into force in the UK on 26 May 2011, change the law relating to the use of website cookies. This new law is the result of an amendment to the EU's ePrivacy directive. It will require businesses and organisations running websites in the UK to get consent from visitors in order to store and retrieve information on users' computers, which will mean that site owners need to get an explicit opt-in in order to deploy practically any cookie.
The benefits of cookies to users by far outweigh the alleged negatives, with users getting more relevant advertising shown to them. Their favourite content sites and services are able to make money. Websites are richly featured and personalised on the basis of information stored in cookies. Traditionally, the US and the UK have taken a more relaxed approach to privacy. Technology - Dutch cookie law may lead to online exodus. Web publishers have warned that a strict new internet privacy law set to be adopted in the Netherlands could cause them to shift some operations to other European countries.
The law, which the Dutch parliament is likely to approve on Wednesday, would force websites to ask users for specific permission before recording their personal data, or providing the data to third parties. It is part of a European Union-wide push to regulate user-tracking files known as “cookies”. The move is provoking controversy because of an amendment, approved on Tuesday by opposition parliamentarians, which requires websites to be able to prove that users have approved the use of their data. Website developers and online advertisers warn the amendment will create headaches for developers, and could force users to click more pop-up windows while navigating the internet.
“We can’t have this sort of splendid isolation in the Netherlands,” said Afke Schaart, a member of parliament for the governing Liberal Party. ICO publishes advice on new EU cookies law | STM & Legal. Login to IWR Brussels review of IP laws needs to be handled with care Any review of the European regime needs to complement and support intellectual Property (IP) as a dr... Self-regulation will help businesses to keep up with the web laws The European Union (EU) directive on web cookies came into force on May 26, 2011 and the Information... Small software companies need IP regime that enables them to flourish The findings of the Hargreaves Review into Intellectual Property and Growth are welcome but concerns... » more opinions STM & Legal US law students get practical know-how Practical Law content is now part of the WestlawNext law school offering ...
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