A Simple Guide To Complying With The EU Cookie and Privacy Law

I started my blog as a guide for putting things together, over time that's slipped through hardware, software, coding, computer aided design, building speakers etc, and has now slipped into web development a little bit.

I can't imaging that this web design kick will last a terribly long time. but whilst it's in my mind and giving me inspirstion to write posts then I'll run with it!!

In the UK (and the EU) we now have a cookie law.
this is a bit weird, and smacks of politicuians thinking that we're eating too many cookies, and that makes you fat, and there is an obecity epidenic, also, when you eat lots you crap lots too, and the sewers can only take so much before the pipes come clogged and then there is too much for the interpipes, and it's falling appart, and it's all the fault of the cookie, or something like that.

In principal I agree that there are some good, bad and ugly uses of cookies.

But like all half baked laws (I promise I'll stop with the cookies are like actual biscuit jokes soon) this one is pretty easy to make a mockery of.

But I've decided that on the site that I've made I'll play within the spirit of the law, as well as the letter of the law, and here's how I've done it.

First, I took a look round, it seems that just letting people know that you use cookies is enough.

So the easiest way to be compliant with the law is to just put a small banner on your site that simply says, "this site uses Cookies" some people go further by saying by continuing to use this site you agree that we can store cookies on your computer, but really you don't need to do that.

The message I put up also links to  privacy policy where you get the additional information that the cookies are only used because of the shopping basket feature, that the cookie is cleared if the basket is emptied etc...

Basically, the key to keeping in line with this law is let your users know you keep cookies, and go the extra little way to explain to your users why it is that you need to store anything on their machine.