EU Cookie Law

By Stuart Barker.

In a matter of weeks the new EU Cookie Law comes into force in the UK. This UK Cookie Law has been in place for nearly 12 months. The deadline for compliance was set at the 26th May 2012 to allow businesses time to prepare. What is clear is that many businesses are not prepared and in many cases have never ever heard of the cookie law.

What adds to the drama of the Cookie Law is uncertainty around the implementation solutions required to meet the law. There is controversy in the development community, push back from the business community and mixed messages from the Information Commissioners Office. This has led to a spate of compliance solutions from a variety of vendors that to varying degrees solve varying problems whilst introducing a whole host more. Most notably a vast reduction in the user experience. Are users seriously going to clear Accept on something they themselves do not understand? On every website they visit?

Cookie Law and the Agenci

At the Agenci our advice is clear. Manage this through your standard risk management process. If you are lucky enough to have implemented ISO 27001 then the associated risk management process is your route forward. Assess the risk, prioritise the risk and create a risk treatment plan. As for direct implementation you would not be far wrong holding the line on any technical implementation.

Understanding the risk of course means understanding the extent of the problem. Engage a certified audit company to perform a risk based cookie audit would be your first step and is advised by the ICO. At the Agenci we are delivering risk based cookie audits for some of the worlds largest brands.

Cookie Law and the Chamber of Commerce

As patrons of the Chamber of Commerce the Agenci are currently offering a 25% discount until the 10th May 2012 for this service to Chamber members. View the offer here. We fully expect many businesses will not reach the compliance deadline and will technically be breaking the law. It is then down to effective reputation management.

Cookie Law and www.UKCookieLaw.org

There is a central repository of resources at www.ukcookielaw.org that is worth a visit.