Cookie Notice
This is not a required page per se, but rather a legal requirement to show a banner notice and allow users the chance to ‘opt-out’ and block third party cookies thereby complying with European Cookie Laws.
The EU Privacy Directive, better known as the “EU cookie law”, is a classic piece of bureaucratic red tape and has been called one of the most stupid laws in the world. Be that as it may, it has been the law in the UK since 26 May 2011 and enforcement started a year later. Other EU countries have been slower to enact it. On 3rd June 2015 the grace period provided by the Garante for becoming compliant with the cookie law in Italy ended and all sites serving Italian residents must now comply.
Any business whose website is exclusively targeted to non-EU audiences will not have to comply however, in theory at least, any business anywhere that has a website serving customers within any EU country, is required to comply with the legislation with respect to those EU visitors, and that country.
The most common model used is ‘implied consent’, which basically means that it is OK to use cookies when a visitor arrives, as long as they are given information and the option to change how cookies are used.
I.E. a notice such as follows:
“We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our site. Cookies are files stored in your browser and are used by most websites to help personalize your web experience.
By continuing to use our website without changing the settings, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.”
The easiest way to be compliant is to use a plugin. The Cookie Opt In and the Ginger – EU Cookie Law plug-ins are both good choices.
In addition to the requirement to display a banner with the short information notice and consent request, sites targeting the Italian market must now have an extended Privacy Policy page with a detailed description of their Cookie Policy and cookies used on the website.
We also note that the Amazon Operating Agreement for affiliates also requires that you inform visitors of cookie use to wit:
“… you will be solely responsible for: disclosing on your site accurately and adequately, either through a privacy policy or otherwise, how you collect, use, store, and disclose data collected from visitors, including, where applicable, that third parties (including us and other advertisers) may serve content and advertisements, collect information directly from visitors, and place or recognize cookies on visitors’ browsers.”
Let’s take a good look at that Privacy Policy here.
