• cookie law us

    What is the law?

    The european cookie law, the ePrivacy Directive, is an integral part of the European Union Data Privacy Framework. This is part of the effort to secure the online privacy of EU Citizens. 

    The law was issued in 2002 from the EU and amended in 2009. This law affects a user’s experience of managing cookies and tracking with inadequate legal implementation on the national level. 

    The origin of the Cookie Law

    This law was created to enforce and secure the privacy rights by protecting user’s data. The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (Article 8), stated that, 

    “Everyone has the right to the protection of personal data”, and that “such data must be processed fairly for specified purposes and on the basis of the consent of the person concerned”.

    Further, it explained that “everyone has the right of access to data which has been collected concerning him or her, and the right to have it rectified.”

    Let’s be a bit clearer, the EU cookie law is the ePrivacy Directive, passed to protect the privacy of EU citizens. This provided guidelines regarding the privacy of EU citizens in relation to electronic communications  as part of the wider EU efforts to establish a cohesive framework. 

    Purpose and agenda of EU cookie law

    It can be taken as a user defence against the World Wide Web of online tracking, personal profiling, unsolicited marketing tactics and non-consensual harvesting of data by third parties. 

    Protection of user privacy is the primary objective of this law. As the Directive reads, “the right to private life, the confidentiality of communications and the protection of personal data in the electronic communications sector”

    Europe has been declared as a leading tech watchdog in the whole world, in the New York Times. 

    It is as a result of EU cookie consent law and the General Data Protection Regulation. 

    What is the meaning of GDPR cookie consent law?

    The GDPR cookie consent law is about how other people are dealing with your digital data, what actions they can take with or without your consent. It also states the purpose and in what actual ways your data can be used?

    The EU cookie consent law vs GDPR

    Do not get confused about these two legislations, the EU cookie law and the GDPR. They are separate laws, however GDPR has an impact as to how certain parts of the ePrivacy Directive should be interpreted. 

    The EU cookie consent law / ePrivacy Directive,

    An old legal act, issued in 2002 and amended in 2009. It deals with cookies, data retention and unsolicited e-mailing. Remember, it is not a regulation but a directive, and will be implemented differently in the 28 member states of the EU.  

    The General Data Protection Regulation:

    It is a new regulation, which came into force in the European Union in May 2018. The scope of GDPR is more significant than the previous data protection privacy directive. Its primary focus is data protection (covering all forms of personal data)  and how companies and organisations are playing their part in securing transparency and registering user consent. 

    It is incredible to know that the GDPR has flagged up the word “Cookie” only once. 


    cookie consent LawHow to comply with the EU cookie law

    With a lot of rules, directives, regulations and mostly with different types of cookies, it gets complicated. 

    Being a website owner, you need to keep these things in mind. 

    1. First, all the cookies and trackers operating on your site must be explained in plain and understandable language. So that your users can easily make an informed choice of consent or revoke it according to his preferences. 
    2. On your website, you can hold back cookies and trackers until you receive clear and explicit consent by a user on every cookie and tracker. 
    3. User must not feel any sort of pressure while providing consent, it ought to be given freely. For instance, you should not make a user give necessary consent in order to avail services from your website. 
    4. Being a responsible website service provider, it depends on you how you tackle and protect data from a third-party. You must have a clear idea which third-party trackers your website might harbour, like are they video plugins or social media services.  

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Q.No.1 Is cookie consent required?

    Fundamentally, the Cookie consent law wants every user to provide prior informed consent before a single file gets stored on his or her computer. This clarifies that you, as a website owner, must show details on how and why you are using cookies. Your visitors must have an opportunity to withdraw and refuse consent at any time. 

    Q.No.2 Does the US have cookie law?

    More than half of the United States website won’t need to comply with any regulations such as a Cookie Law. However, if you deal with EU citizens personal data, you are obliged to comply with the GDPR and its requirements for consent. It can be a factor, but if it is related to UK residents, you ought to consider compliance with this law. 

    Q.No.3 What is GDPR expectations cookie consent?

    The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and ePrivacy Directive deal with how you, a site owner should obtain and store cookie consents EU visitors.

    Q.No.4 What are the requirements of an EU cookie law? 

    The EU parliament declared it necessary for every state within the European Union to follow the cookie law. Under this law, you have to obtain informed consent prior to storing or retrieving information on any user’s device.  

    Q.No.5 What is Consent?

    In the cookie law, the consent is defined as “any freely given specific and informed indication of his wishes”. In this statement, “informed” indicates that a site must show its users what type of cookies they use and also tell its purpose to the users. 

    Seers … Be compliant 

    If you browse online, you will get ample cookie consent plugins, which you would like to get. But make sure you choose the best one. 

    Seers can be your compliant partner. Our cookie consent WordPress plugin will help you comply with GDPR and ePrivacy regulations. 

    1.  Seers cookie consent has three parts
    2.  Cookie Audit or Scan
    3.  Cookie Policy
    4.  Cookie Banner

    Cookie Audit: Use Cookie Audit to discover what Cookies you are running on your website & what do you need to do to get Compliant fast.

    Cookie Policy: Create a legally fully compliant Cookie Policy

     Your Cookie Policy includes our unique “automatically updating” Cookie Table updated via HTML script you simply place on your site. This keeps you compliant at all times.

    Cookie Consent Banner

    Seers Cookie Consent Banner provides explicit prior consent, periodic website scan to update cookie policy, covering different jurisdictions for different users and lastly, auto-generate cookie policy and regular updates. 

    Seers is the ultimate solution, and through its WP Cookie consent plugin, you can make your business secure and reliable. 


    Protect yourself, get compliant fast.

    Scan & Audit your Cookies

    & create a Cookie Policy – FREE