Companies in confusion over ‘cookie’ laws

Companies across Europe are in a state of confusion over what they need to do to comply with new Internet privacy laws that come into force on May 26.

The way that most companies currently collect information about people who visit their websites – using so-called “cookies” or small pieces of tracking code – will become illegal under the new European Union rules, and punishable in the UK, for example, with fines of up to £500,000 ($813,000). Companies operating in the region must now get permission from web users for this kind of tracking, but there is little guidance on how they should do so. Internet companies such as Facebook and Google are particularly concerned that the new laws could put their businesses in jeopardy, and advertisers are worried that the market for highly targeted Internet advertising – worth nearly £100m a year in the UK alone – could be damaged. The laws will touch every company that does business over a website. Any site that sells products or carries advertising will use cookies. Cookies can track items that a customer is putting into a website shopping basket, for example, or note the web pages individuals visit and send this information to advertising companies. Most websites will have between 10 to 20 cookies; big corporations with multiple websites could have hundreds or even thousands in use.