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Latest Security News | SecurityExtra.com

EU cookie law: only 23% of web users will opt into cookies

Posted: 30 Apr 2012 12:36 PM PDT

Less than a quarter of web users will happily opt in to cookies following the introduction of the EU ePrivacy Directive next month, according to a new survey by Econsultancy. A survey of 1,097 web users found that 17% of people would definitely not accept cookies if prompted when arriving at a website. 60% said that they might accept them, depending on what they were used for. Only 23% will provide immediate consent. The EU ePrivacy Directive will force UK companies to amend their websites, to provide better guidance to visitors about how cookies are used. Companies that do not comply can be fined up to £500,000. Cookies have many different uses. For example, they can save the contents of a shopping cart (60% said this was ok), or track user experience via web analytics (only 35% were happy to accept these cookies). 21% of web users would authorise cookies that were used to improve the targeting of ads. A bigger survey of 1,593 respondents found that nearly a third of web users don't know what a cookie is, nor why websites use them. There is a lot of confusion and concern over the new directive among UK businesses. Complying [...]