On 13 December 2011 16:41, Mike Ellis <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> This just in from ICO...
>
> http://bit.ly/uEdMGA
The document 'Guidance on the rules on use of cookies and similar
technologies' (http://bit.ly/s6IIiJ - PDF) they link to from that page says:
"The Information Commissioner is aware that there has been discussion
in Europe about the scope of this exception. The argument has been
made in some areas that cookies that are used for resource planning,
capacity planning and the operation of the website, for example, could
come within the scope of the exemption. The difficulty with this
argument is that it could equally be made for advertising and
marketing cookies (whose activities help to fund websites). The
intention of the legislation was clearly that this exemption is a
narrow one and the Commissioner intends to continue to take the
approach he has outlined clearly in published guidance since the 2003
Regulations were introduced."
I find it difficult to believe that it's impossible for legal minds to
come up with a definition that allows for 'Cookies used for analytical
purposes to count the number of unique visits to a website for
example' and excludes 'First and third party advertising cookies'.
However, for now, the document says 'A first party analytic cookie
might not appear to be as intrusive as others that might track a user
across multiple sites but you still need consent'. And later,
'Although the Information Commissioner cannot completely exclude the
possibility of formal action in any area, it is highly unlikely that
priority for any formal action would be given to focusing on uses of
cookies where there is a low level of intrusiveness and risk of harm
to individuals'.
(While I'm here, 'valid, well informed consent' is surely far beyond
the scope of any one website - if you've ever talked someone through
modifying their cookies settings you'll know it's often not a
straightforward conversation and the consequences of changing 1st and
3rd party cookie settings can be unpredictable. However, unless things
change before May 2012 (the end of the 12 month lead-in period),
museums will presumably have to manage it.)
The document discusses browser settings as one solution, though for
now 'relying solely on browser settings will not be sufficient'.
Cheers, Mia
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