Friday marks the last working day for UK businesses to prepare their websites for a new law governing the use of cookies.
From Sunday, sites must obtain “informed consent” from visitors before saving cookies on a machine.
Cookies are pieces of personal data stored when users browse the web, sometimes to power advertising.
The Information Commissioners Office (ICO) is to launch a tool for the public to report non-compliant sites.
It is expected that the vast majority of websites will not be ready in time.
However, the ICO has said it would not take immediate action over non-compliant sites, and would instead offer guidance.
Tracking data
The rules are designed to tackle privacy issues resulting from the growing use of cookies which track users’ browsing habits.
The guidelines, set by the EU, mean visitors must be told what cookies are being placed on their machine.
Typically, this will mean a pop-up window seeking consent.
Ultimately it is your decision as it is your website and your responsibility to ensure that you comply with this EU Directive. Please do get in contact with us if you would like to discuss how we might help you.
If you want to see an example of how we have done this for a client click here http://www.archives.org.uk/
To read more on this BBC report click on the following link – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18194235
