New EU 'cookie' directive set to have big impact on UK web industry

Concerns regarding data privacy and security online have been bubbling away for some time but the latest in a series of legislative and regulatory changes has made the headlines this week, prompting concerns regarding confusion for both businesses and web visitors.

The European e-Privacy directive will come into force in the UK on the 25th May this year, requiring websites to gain permission from visitors to store tracking data. While many different methods of data storage will be impacted, the most prevalent is in the form of Cookies.

Cookies work by holding data in text files - often helping each and every one of us remember those passwords we've forgotten, or enabling us to buy purchases online from our favourite stores with just 'one click'. While Cookies can radically enhance user experience, the downside is that they can also divulge a lot of information about visitor activities and habits, enabling a profile to be created to determine the type, volume and content of behavioural advertising to be put in front of the user. The outcome of the new legislation will almost certainly lead to a reduction in the amount of behavioural advertising that takes place online.

Specific guidelines for businesses are being created by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, but the Government has already confirmed that these will not be ready by the 25th May.

Given the delays, the potential for confusion is high. For us, there is also some degree of contradiction taking place between legislation for online and offline behavioural advertising. For many years now, high street retailers and large supermarkets have proactively marketed services and products to customers based on the items in their weekly shopping baskets. The new legislation is explicit in its desire to see the use of cookies restricted to online shopping baskets, thereby limiting the opportunities to store further data about shopping habits and choices. This will, no doubt, raise concerns from online retailers, but for now, our best advice is to continue to focus on the end user experience. The Internet Advertising Bureau provides a host of information and advice about behavioural advertising and the current use of cookies. Investing time to understand the experience of your customers and visitors now will enable you to become better informed and prepared when the legislation comes into force. We anticipate that there will be an increase in the number of pop up windows and confirmation details required before purchases can be made online, but careful consideration of your current procedures will help ensure you remain as compliant to the new legislation as possible while maintaining high levels of customer experience.

We'll be keeping a close eye on the new regulations as they come into force, so for more information or just an informal chat about the implications, please feel free to contact one of the team!

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