The Cookie Law is a piece of privacy legislation that was adopted by all EU countries in May 2011, it requires websites to get consent from visitors to store or retrieve any information on a computer, smartphone or tablet.
It was designed to protect your online privacy, by making you aware of how information about you is collected and used online, and give you a choice to allow it or not.
Some website owners have adhered to this law, many have still not complied, and as far as we are aware, 4 years on nobody has been prosecuted under this legislation.
Well, whether you agree or disagree with the EU directive, whether you’re happy to take the minor risk of going down in history as the first person to be prosecuted under this legislation or not, you may be about to be pushed in that direction by Google.
Google is currently sending the following email to all webmasters who use Google Ads in any form where the end user is located inside the EU.
Dear Publisher,
We want to let you know about a new policy about obtaining EU end-users’ consent that reflects regulatory and best practice guidance. It clarifies your duty to obtain end-user consent when you use products like Google AdSense, DoubleClick for Publishers and DoubleClick Ad Exchange.
Please review our new EU user consent policy as soon as possible. This requires that you obtain EU end users’ consent to the storing and accessing of cookies and other information, and to the data collection, sharing and usage that takes place when you use Google products. It does not affect any provisions on data ownership in your contract.
Please ensure that you comply with this policy as soon as possible, and not later than 30 September 2015.
If your site or app does not have a compliant consent mechanism, you should implement one now. To make this process easier for you, we have compiled some helpful resources at cookiechoices.org.
This policy change is being made in response to best practice and regulatory requirements issued by the European data protection authorities. These requirements are reflected in changes that have been recently made on Google’s own websites.
Thank you in advance for your understanding and cooperation.
Regards,
The Google Policy Team
What does this mean for you?
Well, if you don’t use Google Ads at all then you can carry on regardless, but if you do use Google Ads and don’t have any form of ‘cookie control’ script installed on your website, you may want to look into that BEFORE 30 September 2015.
Google has a habit of just turning ads off if a site doesn’t comply with it’s policies, which means if you still have no cookie control on your website after the deadline then your ads will stop showing and visitors will stop flowing.
How we can help
We are able to make your website compliant with the EU cookie law for a relatively small cost, ensuring that you meet the regulations and don’t have to worry about the possibility of receiving a fine from the ICO for non-compliance or having your ads stopped by Google.
We do this by implementing a tried-and-tested system that requests visitor permission in a tidy and unobtrusive way throughout your entire site. Messages can be worded and styled to integrate cleanly with your site, helping enforce user confidence and maintaining a totally seamless user experience for your visitors.
If you’d like to speak to us about how we can help make your site compliant, then please don’t hesitate to give us a call today on 08432894375, or drop us an email on info@tandtwebdesign.co.uk.
And if you’re not sure whether your site uses cookies or not, we’re happy to carry out a FREE audit of your website for you, and e-mail you the results.
