The Risks Of Not Being Cookie Compliant

Are You Cookie Compliant?

We’ve all heard of website cookies. Most people understand the premise of them, what they are used for and why they are important. However, as a website owner, you need to be aware of how compliant your website is when it comes to the cookies you use on your website.

Most websites use cookies, they're standard practice. But what is important is that a user who visits your website is made aware of the fact your website is using cookies, and that they are given the opportunity to give their consent for the cookies to be placed on their browser. Consent must be asked for and received before a cookie is dropped. More importantly, if consent is withheld, the site should still function correctly but without the use of selected cookies.

According to international privacy laws, such as General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and the ePrivacy Directive, a user has the right to control what data they share with others and what cookies they install.

How Do I Become Cookie Compliant?

Three things you need to keep in mind:

1.   Make sure you have a cookie usage alert on your website

2.   Make sure you have a cookie policy on your website

3.   Make sure you can prove you are cookie compliant on your website

Cookie Usage Alert 

Cookie usage alerts need to appear to the user as soon as they land on a website and it needs to be clear to them where to find more information about the Cookie Policy. When asking for consent, don’t have pre-ticked boxes, especially if the cookies are non-necessary ones. There is a slightly different circumstance if the cookies are necessary.

Cookie Policy

Companies should set out the user’s rights in a Cookie Policy. A Cookie Policy is usually available from a link in the footer of a website. A link for the users to find out more about the cookies should also be available when gaining consent. Your cookie policy must be easy to find and easy to read. It needs to be easy for the user to change their cookie settings. It’s also important to remember that you cannot use cookies for other purposes than what is described in the cookie usage alert or policy.

Global privacy laws allow users to:

•   Restrict who has access to their personal information

•   Revoke consent to a company holding their personal data at any time

•   Refuse to accept marketing and other unnecessary cookies that collect personally identifiable information

If a company wants to use cookies, consumers have the right to know:

•   Why they're using cookies

•   Specifically what type of information they plan on collecting

•   How they use the data, and whom they share it with

•   How to revoke consent

•   How to delete cookies

Proof 

You need to be able to document the cookie consents you obtain, and the wording in the cookie usage alert used to obtain this consent. Legal documents such as your Cookie Policy also need to be documented as part of the consent collection process. All cookie consents need to be stored so you can prove to authorities that you have obtained the correct consent from your users.

Cookie Management Tool

In order to help our customers, manage the cookies on their website with ease, we have created a new cookie management tool, which will allow you to:

•   View a list of cookies

•   View a specific cookie

•   Create a cookie

•   Edit a cookie

•   Delete a cookie

We will help you to build, implement, test, and assist with cookie management through this easy-to-use tool. Fundamentally, our goal is to make your website compliant with ePrivacy Directive 2009/136/EC (ePR) and reduce your risk of prosecution. We will keep users on your website by implementing this policy in the least obstructive way, whilst keeping your users informed of cookies in use, helping to build trust in your brand.

We are able to offer the use of our cookie management tool as an add-on to your website package, and even if Netmatters did not create your website you are able to take advantage of our easy-to-use tool. 

Please contact us to arrange a quote today and put your mind at ease that your site is cookie compliant.