Re:Say hello to Appsterdam: developers aim to move the Valle...
by blahedo on Sunday June 26, 2011 @05:32PM
(#2699157)
EU in origin but Netherlands have added to it by requiring companies to be able to retain proof that every user had been asked for their permission. My understanding is that the base version, the EU-wide model, would require companies to show that yes, here's the code, before sending a cookie we request permission; but there's a higher level of proof required in NL.
The UK has just recently given all businesses an extra year to get their stuff together. The law, by the way, is only restrictive to analytics cookies, basically, if that analytics service is from a third-party.
You have to get express permission from the user if cookies are being used to monitor their activities in ways that are not essential to the site i.e. you don't need to ask for permission if you're using cookies to implement an online shopping basket, as that's essential fairly essential to all online businesses. A blog monitoring user activity, however, would need to get express user permission.