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As you may have heard, the ICO issued a ‘clarification’ on their guidance regarding the new EU Cookie Law just a day before the law came into force on Saturday May 26th. It was clear to many that the law hadn’t really been specific enough in advising which kinds of websites should gain explicit consent from users before placing cookies on their device, and which websites could rely on ‘implied consent’.

This led to a huge proportion of the web community, ourselves included, apparently ‘mistakenly’ holding the belief that all website owners would have to completely overhaul the way their websites ran, and include cookie-consent pop-ups where web page elements such as social sharing buttons set ‘targeting cookies’. Unnecessary pop-ups and scare stories started to appear all over the web, which probably led to the ICO making this clarification.

We’re not alone in exhaling a huge sigh, both of exasperation and relief, in hearing this ‘clarification’. We had previously provided to our customers detailed information on types of cookies, and given advice on how to deal with them, and in some cases suggested that users should remove widgets and features completely. Now we know that it’s okay for most websites to receive ‘implied consent’ from the visitor, we have to come straight out and say you can ignore all of that now.

The new ‘clarification’ now suggests, in essence, that unless you know that your website sets cookies which collect huge amounts of detailed personal information, such as medical information, without expressly informing the visitor that you’re doing so, then all you need to do is to update your Privacy Policy with information that clearly states that your website sets cookies. Changing its name to ‘Privacy & Cookies’ will help, as well. We hope you agree that this is a far easier solution.

We have updated our article ‘What Is The EU Cookies Law and How Can I Ensure My Website Complies With It?’ with examples of text you may wish to include in your ‘Privacy & Cookies’ section, depending on which Create widgets and features you currently use. Following this guide should ensure that you are compliant when using Create widgets and features.

Please note, we cannot provide advice on cookies set by widgets that are sourced outside of Create. We urge you to contact the widget provider to find out if any cookies are set by their widget, and if so, which type they are.