Why You Need a Cookie Policy to Comply With GDPR

Cookie policies are an important part of your GDPR-compliant web presence. However, they can be confusing for users and may lead to a number of problems down the line.

Luckily, there are some ways to make your cookie policy easy to understand. One way is to create a consent banner that pops up when your visitors first visit your site.

Introduction

If your website receives visitors from the European Union (EU), it will need a Cookie Policy in order to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation. This law came into effect on 25th May 2018.

The GDPR aims to protect the privacy of EU citizens and give them more control over their data. It lays out the basic rules for how businesses collect and use personal information. It also includes penalties for companies that don’t follow the rules.

To ensure compliance, a company needs to develop a comprehensive Cookie Policy and obtain consent from data subjects. This policy should explain how cookies are used, why they’re used, and what data is collected. It should also include a clear way for users to accept or reject them.

However, if your business relies on third-party services for advertising, you’ll have to get consent from the third parties as well. Moreover, your consent should be easy to withdraw in case of a change in terms and conditions.

One of the most important things to understand about cookies is that they are not always classed as personal data. For example, a user authentication cookie might not qualify as personal data under the UK’s GDPR. But a tracking cookie that tracks online behavior for the purpose of delivering targeted ads could be classified as personal data under PECR.

This means that a company must secure valid consent to process them, unless it can demonstrate a legitimate interest. In practice, most websites use cookie identifiers to provide information about the use of their site and deliver better, more relevant products and services.

But if you do this without proper consent, you could face hefty fines under the GDPR. For example, if your company collects and stores the personal data of millions of customers, you could be hit with a massive fine of up to €20 million if you don’t meet the law’s requirements.

This is why it’s important for your business to understand the nuances of the law and how to create a Cookie Policy that’s effective and compliant with it. In addition to developing a cookie policy, you’ll need to take steps to ensure your business is safe from data breaches and violations.

• Read More: Do I Need A Cookie Policy On My Website?

Benefits

A cookie policy is a legal document that tells users what types of cookies your website uses and how they're used. It's an important part of data protection compliance and GDPR compliance, as it helps you meet your legal obligations and protect your users' privacy.

The GDPR requires that you get consent before loading any non-essential cookies on your website. This includes cookies that are used for analytics, marketing (also called advertising or targeting), and functionality. In addition, you must also inform users of their rights if they change their minds about what kinds of cookies you use on your site.

This can be done through a separate Cookie Policy or by adding a cookie clause to your existing Privacy Policy. Many businesses choose to keep their cookie policies separate, as they make it easier for users to find the information they need.

When creating a Cookie Policy, you should think about the legal requirements and best practices for obtaining consent. You should also consider how long the cookies will be stored, what kind of information they collect, and who they share it with.

You should also ensure that your Cookie Policy is available in all the languages your website is served in, as well as any other languages your services are offered in. This will ensure that all of your users can understand the policy and give you the consent you need.

If you have a lot of websites, you may want to consider using a tool that can automatically check for compliance. There are a wide range of options for this, and it's worth doing some research to find one that meets your needs.

A tool that can also help you manage your visitor consent logs and other consent issues, such as data storage location consent, is especially useful. You can also look for a system that's free to try and offers competitive pricing.

When choosing a cookie policy solution, be sure to pick one that allows you to customize your cookie banners and easily update your policy. It should also provide a dashboard that shows you what's happening with your consent logs.

Important steps to take

If you're an online business, a website owner or any other party that collects or processes personal data on European citizens, you need to take a serious look at your cookie policy. You must ensure that it's GDPR compliant and complies with any other data protection law in your country.

The key to compliance is to create a Cookie Policy that outlines the various types of cookies you use and the purposes for which they're used. You also need to specify the legal basis for collecting and processing this data.

There are many different types of cookies that can be used on your website, including analytics and customization, advertising, and functional services such as surveys or chat tools. These are all subject to GDPR compliance and should be clearly outlined in your Cookie Policy.

In addition, your Cookie Policy should detail how you're going to handle user consent. This includes obtaining valid consent from your users and offering them a way to withdraw that consent at any time.

According to the GDPR, consent is only valid if it's given in a clear and affirmative manner. This means that you should have an easily accessible Cookie Consent button or pop-up that asks for the user's consent and provides them with information about how the website will use cookies, along with the option to reject them by clicking a 'Reject' button.

You can also include links to privacy policies for the various third parties you use. These are often the tech companies that set cookies on your site that track and collect user data for the purpose of serving targeted ads to your users.

For example, Google uses a cookie called 'Google Tag Manager' on your website to help it serve ads. Similarly, Facebook has a cookie that allows it to follow you across its websites and see what content you've liked or shared on your timeline.

In the event of a breach, your organisation could face fines of up to €20 million or 4 percent of annual global turnover (whichever is higher). For this reason, it's important that you're compliant with GDPR, and that you create a Cookie Policy that ensures you don't break any laws in your country.

Tips for creating an effective cookie policy

If you run a website that attracts European Union (EU) visitors, you need to understand the impact of GDPR on cookies. The new privacy regulation went into effect on 25 May 2018. It requires businesses to provide a fair and transparent policy for data collection and use. This means that your cookie policy needs to be updated regularly to ensure that you comply with the law.

Cookies are small pieces of data that let websites "remember" users, and they can help with everything from identifying browsing trends to targeting advertising on other sites. They can also be used to make suggestions on a website, like what items to recommend to people who shop on Amazon.

The GDPR focuses on providing users with information about how their personal data is used, including information about cookies and other technologies that can track user activity. It gives individuals the right to be informed about how their data is being used, and to request access to it.

To comply with the GDPR, you need to include a statement about cookies in your site's privacy policy. This should explain what cookies are, how they work, and why you use them.

It should also allow people to update their preferences if they want to delete them or refuse to accept them. In addition, the policy should be easy to read and accessible to all users.

Another important part of your GDPR-compliant cookie policy is ensuring that you get consent to use cookies in a way that protects the privacy of EU users. This is best achieved using an opt-in approach that allows users to reject or withdraw their consent.

If you aren't sure how to achieve this, there are many tools that can help you. One of the most convenient is a solution that will automatically generate a GDPR-compliant cookie declaration for your website, which will save you time and effort.

Ultimately, your GDPR-compliant cookie policy should be tailored to the specific needs of your business and website. This means that you should include details about all of the different types of cookies you use, both first-party and third-party.