The European Parliament today voted to approve the European Commission’s Telecoms Package of reforms. Part of that package of reforms was a change to EU law on the use of cookies.
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The now-adopted text says that cookies can be stored on a user’s computer, or accessed from that computer, only if the user “has given his or her consent, having been provided with clear and comprehensive information”. An exception exists where the cookie is “strictly necessary” for the provision of a service “explicitly requested” by the user. (The official text is found in a 96-page PDF. OUT-LAW has a summary of the relevant parts.)
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Europe and publishers’ trade body the European Publishers’ Council (EPC) have said that they believe that the law says that browsers’ settings will indicate a user’s permission to use cookies.
Read more on Out-Law.com.