Despite the EU Cookie Law coming into effect in May this year, many companies and web users are still confused about what they can and can’t do around the use of cookies.
The law, originating from the EU, is more properly called the EU e-privacy directive, and requires website owners to make significant changes to their sites and requires websites to obtain informed consent from visitors before they can store or retrieve any information on a computer or any other web connected device
But one software firm is challenging the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) over the directive. The firm, who previously built websites, but now makes software that analyses them, have created a website called Nocookielaw, with the tagline “Dear ICO, Sue Us”, because it is frustrated with the cookie rules and the impact that they have had on web use and design.
A new survey has found that web users are less than happy with the directive too, as of the 1,097 web users polled, only 23 per cent would provide immediate consent for the use of cookies when arriving at a website, according to the survey.
A bigger survey found that nearly a third of web users still don’t know what a cookie is or why websites use them.
A spokesperson behind one of the surveys said that the directive, breach of which can result in a £500,000 fine, is “a major and somewhat unwelcome challenge for online businesses in the UK.
“E-commerce sites that rely on analytics to improve the user experience and maximise conversion rates, and publishers which rely on advertising income in order to offer free content online face a serious challenge.
“As the survey results show, persuading users to opt in to cookies will be very difficult. The law could result in a loss of data, sales and income for many online businesses.”