A new series of online privacy rules have come into effect within the European Union’s 27 member countries, requiring companies to receive consent to track individuals’ actions online.
In this surprising new move, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has changed the wording of the laws, moving from ‘explicit consent’ to ‘implied consent’ from website users.
This means that websites can assume that users have consented to their use of the cookies, provided they are ‘satisfied that your users understand that their actions will result in cookies being set’. Sites rely on cookies to store data such as online shopping baskets, identification and other user preferences, and requiring users to agree to each instance would subject them to a blizzard of decisions about acceptance or refusal.
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