Over the last year, you’ve probably noticed that more and more websites are suddenly covered with pop-ups or banners talking about cookies and consent. These notices are annoying and delay your access to your intended website, which is the opposite of the internet’s goal of being user-friendly. So why does every site suddenly have these warnings?
First, let’s clear up some terminology. A cookie is a bit of information that a website stores on your computer, allowing the site to recognize your computer when you visit it again. This makes your internet experience much smoother and more convenient by keeping you logged into certain sites or remembering your settings and preferences. In general, cookies don’t contain any personal information like your name or email address, but some can include records of your activity on the website, which can be used for targeted advertising.
In the European Union, they decided that was a problem. Under the EU’s internet privacy legislation known as GDPR, everyone has the right to control their data and how it’s used. Where cookies are concerned, that means that every website must state that they use cookies and why. Some of these policies offer a checkbox to opt out of using cookies on that site, but most state that your use of the site constitutes consent, much like terms and conditions.
Websites have no borders, so even though this is an EU law, it effectively applies to the entire internet. When an EU citizen visits a website based in the U.S., the same GDPR rules apply. That’s why just about any website you go to these days follows the same protocol. For now, it’s the best solution we have to maintain everyone’s privacy and right to control their own data.
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