Cookie compliance: Econsultancy analyses the latest ICO guidance
I’ve been on record a number of times saying that I think the EC Directives relating to cookies are fundamentally flawed. We could make a parallel with the current UK/EU Euro ‘situation’ but let’s not go there. In the UK the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has a duty to enforce these directives and, as they say, “This isn’t going away. It’s the law.”
Yesterday the ICO released its updated guidance for UK website owners. You can download the PDF from the link in the news release.
Given the tough task of interpretation, guidance and enforcement that is the ICO’s duty, I have to say that I think this document is a valiant and comprehensive effort given the task and I’d commend them for this. I would urge you to read it for the full details. It is clearly written and quite practical.
Below are some of my initial thoughts on reading this latest guidance.
Q&A: LBI's Manley on preparing for the EU cookie directive
Manley is SEO Director at LBi, and he has been working with clients recently, preparing for the full implementation of the EU cookie directive.
This directive (here's the pdf if you have a few hours spare) was introduced in the name of privacy, but has serious implications for online businesses.
I've been asking Manley about what the directive will mean in practice for online businesses, and what they should be doing to prepare themselves...
ICO follows ICO's rules, cookie usage drops by 90%
Although businesses have an extra year to chew on it, barring a miracle, they'll eventually have to figure out what the updates to Regulation 6 of the UK's Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 mean and how to make sure they're adhered to.
Those updates, of course, require that users provide "consent" for the placement of a cookie on their machines.
FTC seeks input on Dot Com Disclosures revision
In May 2000, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a number of guidelines designed to help companies stay in compliance with numerous consumer protection laws as they increased their presence on the then-nascent commercial internet.
The FTC's Dot Com Disclosures (PDF) document largely explained how existing laws around advertising and disclosure applied in the context of the internet, and provided some specific examples.
ICO: take an extra year to chew on new cookie law
Wondering how your business will address the new law that requires users to opt in to cookies? There's good news: you can procrastinate.
That's because the ICO, perhaps facing the reality that the new law is fatally flawed, has decided to give everyone amnesty (as the Telegraph calls it) for violating the law over the course of the next year.
Something to chew on: the ICO's vague cookie advice
If the Information Commissioner's Office has its way, cookies will soon be a lot less tasty to website operators.
That's because on May 26, the rules governing the use of cookies on websites in Regulation 6 of the UK's Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 will be updated in to require that a user "has given his or her consent" to the placement of a cookie in accordance with a new European Directive.
Unworkable "Do Not Track" bills coming to the US
Online privacy may be one of the most important digital issues of the day, and it's only getting more important as more and more people use the internet more frequently.
Not suprisingly, government is increasingly looking to assert its role in the debate. Late last year, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a staff report suggesting that one attractive solution to many privacy concerns would be a Do Not Track mechanism that allows consumers to opt out of tracking.
The primary method of accomplishing this, the FTC proposed, would be a "persistent setting, similar to a cookie, on the consumer’s browser".
Advertisers undercounting iOS paid search conversions: report
With marketers spending billions of dollars annually on paid search campaigns, accurately measuring conversions is a top priority. After all, conversion data provides important signals that marketers can use to manage budget and refine campaigns.
Unfortunately, conversions are often more difficult to measure than it seems they should be. According to a study by Marin Software, an ad management solutions provider, the proliferation of iOS devices, including the iPhone and iPad, is making accurate conversion tracking even more difficult.
Why the EU Privacy Directive is not a real threat to the internet industry
The new EU e-Privacy Directive that comes into effect in the UK on May 25 has caused a major stir in the local internet community, but its real impact will depend on enforcement and ‘cost’ to end users.
Could common sense prevail? Perhaps, but in the end practicality will...
Google, Mozilla jump on the Do Not Track bandwagon
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission doesn't think advertisers are doing enough to respect the privacy of consumers online, so it recently proposed the creation of a Do Not Track system for the web that would give consumers the ability to opt out of ad tracking.
There's just one big challenge: making that happen technically.
