EU Cookie Law Compliance and Visitor Tracking
On May 26th 2011 a new EU law came into effect that aims to protect the privacy of web users by requiring that websites request permission to use certain types of cookie. In the wording of the law, only cookies that are ‘strictly necessary’ may be used without first gaining user consent.
This means that sites wishing to use cookies for tracking customer behaviour (among other uses) would require consent before placing them on the user's machine.
The effects of this law will be profound and far-reaching. In the UK, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has given UK businesses 1 year's grace until May 26th 2012 to become compliant with this law or potentially face legal action.