The Dutch Parliament recently passed the “cookie law” ( Mai 8th) and this law will become active on June 5. This implementation is so swift that nobody is prepared for this quick deployment and there is almost no website, with is compliant to these new rules.
Websites of Government and regulators not compliant yet.
Apart from the fact that companies and organisations are not prepared for the required changes on their websites, it appears that the government itself is also not ready yet, in terms of the cookie legislation for her website.www.rijksoverheid.nl
This morning ( June 5) The article on the implementation of the new cookie law set four cookies without asking consent from the visitor.
OPTA does not give advice
Unlike the British regulator ICO , OPTA gives no advice yet, on what companies and organizations can do to best meet the new legislation. The ICO gave an example of how businesses and organisations could be compliant to the law.The British ICO has recently indicated that opt-in by clicking a checkbox, is not the only way to be compliant. This advice came rather late for some companies just before the deadline to be compliant.
The website of the information commissioners office Opta www.opta.nl itself is already compliant to the law, but on a draconic way: No permission is asked , because the website does not set any cookies. At first glance people might think this is great, but I am now wondering how this website is accountable. Opta’s website made with tax payers’ money should at least demonstrate that the information it gives to visitors is effective and worth the investment.
Sweden
Compared to the Swedish government this is rather late. The website www.regeringen.se sets some session cookies and it is asking consent for further implementation.
It is clearly showing they are implementing this law.
UK
The British website of the UK Parliament does not ask consent although it sets a couple of cookies without asking consent first. A link to a page with information on cookies brings the visitor towards a rather technical explanation on what a cookies is and what it is used for. I hope everybody on the public will understand it, but I’m afraid most of the technical info is lost to the people.
Germany
Germany did not adjust their laws on data protection. Although Germany has a high standard on data protection, this does not mean that Germany is saved by the opt-in opt-out problem. Peter Schaar, the data protection officer of the German Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit (BfDI), stated that the EU guid lines on opt-in will also be compliant in Germany.
Too much emphasize on cookies
The “cookie laws” made the debate concentrate around the tracking. But this is only a small part of the digital privacy debate. Privacy, a fundamental right of people, should be treated on a higher level than cookies. It is time businesses and organisations start taking privacy as a positive way to tread their visitors and customers with respect.
To be continued ( article on how to treat your customers with respect and Privacy as a positive change )
Thanks Geddy, what are you advising your customers to do with regard to analytics cookies? and are you telling them to do it urgently?
Posted by Chris Field | June 6, 2012, 10:58 amHi Chris, I think it depends on your line of business. Businesses have to think about data protection as soon as possible, not only concentrating on cookies, but on the complete picture. Clean your house: are all cookies necessary? Know what cookies you are using and evaluate them. Then decide how to be compliant to the laws of the countries you are targeting.
Posted by Geddy van Elburg | June 6, 2012, 11:36 amSure, but specifically… for a Netherlands client with a basic site using GA for instance. Are you telling them they need to get explicit (opt-in) consent prior to using analytics cookies or are you tell them to hold fire until further guidance arrives?
Posted by Chris Field | June 7, 2012, 2:20 pmI think your client should be compliant with the Dutch law.The OPTA came with a pdf on the Dutch “cookie law” in which they take a strict interpretation. Before you place any GA cookies you should ask permission. This also applies towards governmental websites and foreign websites. At this moment not many businesses have being compliant yet. Most of them need time to implement a cookie opt-in.Think of a creative way to do this. It certainly need not to be ugli.
Posted by Geddy van Elburg | June 7, 2012, 7:38 pmThanks very much, very help full.
Posted by Chris Field | June 8, 2012, 8:50 am