back to article UK cookies cop changes own policy to ‘implied consent’

The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the agency charged with implementing the EU’s ePrivacy Directive insisting web publishers tell their readers about how they use cookies, has changed its own cookie policy to one of implied consent rather than asking visitors to its website to formally opt in to receiving cookies. …

COMMENTS

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Holmes

    UK i told you so clause

    The UK (and any other 'democracy') needs a new parliamentary instrument for when politicians make silly laws that only politicians and government think is good, only to fail further down the line.

    Some way to be able to point out that the people were right, the politicians were wrong and to try and stop future idiots making policy experiments on areas they are clueless about.

    Cookie law, ID cards, Public Private Partnerships, Enhanced CRC ... the list goes on and the muppets who make up this nonsense get moved to the lords or in blair's case to some global political job, where he can f*ck up more than just the UK.

  2. Jamie Jones Silver badge

    in out... in out...... shake it all about!

    oh hokey cokey cokey!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: in out... in out...... shake it all about!

      Surely you mean oh hokey cokey cookie!

      1. Jamie Jones Silver badge
        Happy

        Re: in out... in out...... shake it all about!

        *groan*

        Have an upvote!

        1. Gannon (J.) Dick
          Pint

          Re: in out... in out...... shake it all about!

          A replacement upvote for you, Jamie.

          I can't keep doing this forever, the "Coward" must be stopped!

  3. This post has been deleted by its author

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Well that was a pointless and irritating waste of money then. The only ripples they made were on tech sites where -as a general rule of thumb- people know about cookies anyway. Zero effect on tracking cookies; the only people who bothered complying were sites you didn't have to worry about anyway...meanwhile the advertisers/trackers have continued uninterrupted.

    Fucking useless.

    1. auburnman

      At least they've backed down now, even if they didn't have the stones to admit it was pointless ineffective fiddling in the first place. If they're still determined now could be the time to politely ask them to consider a less intrusive cookie control strategy, like sponsoring Chrome/Firefox extensions that make it easy for the average user.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        That's how I would have handled things...1/4 of the budget donated to Ghostery; 1/4 to NoScript; 1/4 to subsidise me fucking off to the pub for the next year; and the remaining 1/4 given back to the grateful British taxpayer. It would have taken all of 10 minutes. Apart from the pub bit.

  5. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
    FAIL

    "We felt this was appropriate at the time, considering that many people didn’t know much about cookies and what they were used for."

    Yeah, because it was just about ten years after the first cookie scare.

    Can Commissioner Reding now get off her high horse and ...

    What's that I hear ... "Privacy by Design" she's yelling. Oookkay. Get ready for another wave.

  6. Da Weezil
    Mushroom

    What a Waste

    ICO, OFT, OFCOM, All useless and toothless.

    Ripe for replacement with something that looks after the citizens rights... oh silly me.. that would impinge on the rights of companies to profile us/Fleece us/allow us to be ripped off by ISPs.

  7. ukgnome

    Does this mean...

    that El Reg can have implied consent? Because I get tired of the grey bar asking if I am OK with cookies.

    **For the record I am OK with cookies, biscuits (except bourbons) but my preference is cake!

    1. MrXavia
      Thumb Up

      Re: Does this mean...

      100% agree with you, I HATE these banners..... I know that companies will track me, if not by cookies, then by browser signature, IP, etc...

      So just improve browsers to be more anonymous rather than forcing websites to display banners,

  8. Camilla Smythe

    Google Analytics

    OK... all you 'cookie lovers'.

    Explain to me in words that do not involve sophistry such as 'It's Free' why the ICO and practically every .gov.uk website smears Google Analytics all over their websites... both on HTTP pages and HTTPS pages.

    Once again, things may have changed but,

    Please include an explanation of what data is hoovered up into 'The Chocolate Factory' and what it is ultimately used for.

    http://www.nhs.uk/Pages/HomePage.aspx

    google analytics

    crazy egg

    webtrends

    http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/7646/screenshot206o.png

    Please include an explanation of what data is hoovered up into 'The Chocolate Factory', 'Crazy Egg', 'Webtrends' and what it is ultimately used for?

    Also explain why they need three 'analytics tools' on the site and why there is no apparent warning about which cookies are being set. I might have missed some of the orgasmicness because I choose to block such crap.

    Your mission, should you accept it, is to apply for a job with the NHS.

    http://www.jobs.nhs.uk/

    Report back with your experience of tracking cookies and in particular Java Script.. in particular from Google Analytics, or indeed anything else you find, both on HTTP pages and HTTPS pages, the ones where you give information about your Police Record and previous offences..

    Please take a copy of the scripts involved and provide a complete and thorough analysis of their function.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Google Analytics

      I'm sure you're going to get an informative, in-depth reply to your request, like, by the end of today.

    2. Frankee Llonnygog

      Re: Google Analytics

      Why? You're too lazy to Google the phrase "Google Analytics"?

      1. Camilla Smythe

        @Frankee. Re: Google Analytics

        "Why? You're too lazy to Google the phrase "Google Analytics"?"

        OK Frankee. Thanks for stepping up to the plate.

        -------

        <script type="text/javascript">

        var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");

        document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));

        </script>

        <script type="text/javascript">

        var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-3320079-1");

        pageTracker._initData();

        pageTracker._trackPageview();

        </script>

        "The post is too long. 10000 Characters max."

        You'll have to go use,

        http://www.google-analytics.com/ga.js

        Look forward to your explanation of what it does.

        1. Camilla Smythe

          The Silence of The Frankee. Google Analytics

          Perhaps it is a bit hard to interpret 'compressed' and 'obfuscated' JavaScript. Still I suppose if you are an expert like wot Frankee is you can always Google it. Maybe Frankee is not a LavaLamp expurt.

          When asked a similar question, i.e. "What does this hunk of 'text' do?" the ICO responded with words to the effect of,

          "Mumble Mumble. It's all anonymous. Mumble Mumble. Improves your Browsing Experience. Mumble Mumble."

          Roughly translatable as "We have not got a fucking clue."

          Great. So I get my information and, ultimately, services from .gov.uk and associated sites, some of which contain requests for sensitive information, who smear GoogleCrap over every page that sucks up data and sends it off to servers in the US, that punts cookies onto my computer so they can follow through on other pages and Google has a wanging gert big database full of the content on those pages.

          In the meantime the ICO, and the rest, do not have a fucking clue as to what it does but it is Anonymous and it does Improve my Browsing Experience and it is 'Free'... as in we are the product.

          Ring Ring

          Click

          "Hi, Mr Google Here."

          "Hi, Mr ICO here, erm that JavaScript stuff we are using."

          "Oh Yes, nice bit of coding that."

          "It does comply with what we are meant to do, doesn't it?"

          "100% Squeaky Clean Sir, Yes Siree!"

          "And no problems with the.."

          "Germans making you look stupid again?

          "Err, Yes."

          "No worries at all."

          "That's OK then. Thanks, Bye."

          "Have a nice day."

          Click

          Click

          1. Frankee Llonnygog

            Re: The Silence of The Frankee. Google Analytics

            Sigh.

            https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/gajs/

            OK?

            1. Camilla Smythe

              Re: The Silence of The Frankee. Google Analytics

              Thank you,

              Now I have some reading to do.

              1. Camilla Smythe
                Holmes

                Re: The Silence of The Frankee. Google Analytics

                Quick question, feel free to ignore..

                http://www.ico.gov.uk

                <script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript" src="/js/taglinks.js"></script>

                <!-- Google analytics -->

                <script type="text/javascript">

                var _gaq = _gaq || [];

                _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-1036645-1']);

                _gaq.push(['_gat._anonymizeIp']);

                _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);

                (function () {

                var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;

                ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';

                var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);

                })();

                </script>

                This has changed since the last time I looked. Can't prove it though.

                ... Ooooooo,

                http://www.nhs.uk/

                <!-- Google Analytics testing in bau-->

                <script type="text/javascript">

                //<![CDATA[

                var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");

                document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));

                //]]>

                </script>

                <script type="text/javascript">

                //<![CDATA[

                try {

                var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-9510975-1");

                pageTracker._trackPageview();

                }

                catch (err) { }

                //]]>

                </script>

                I think that one has changed as well. At least one of them before our recent conversation was..

                <script type="text/javascript">

                var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");

                document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));

                </script>

                <script type="text/javascript">

                var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-3320079-1");

                pageTracker._initData();

                pageTracker._trackPageview();

                </script>

                Looks like someone is brushing sand over their tracks in the sand.

  9. Dave, Portsmouth
    FAIL

    The beginning of the end? We can hope!

    Seriously, the "cookie prompting" requirement is probably, for me, the single worst change to the internet I can think of. I'm forever being harassed with popups or big overlays on websites or just losing a quarter of the screen height because of some badly thought out rule that means I've got to agree or disagree to cookies. It's like going back to the 90's with intrusive popup adverts on every website.

  10. James 51

    I hate sites like games workshop that won't let you view them unless you let cookies on your page. There's simply no need unless you're placing an order or logging in.

  11. Anonymous Coward 15

    But there was no choice or consent

    All the banners said "suck on it or leave". And you couldn't lose the banners without allowing cookies and JS.

  12. Marlons
    FAIL

    More costly dreadfully thought out pish

    As above it has just led to user annoyance/scare tactic. 2 non-IT friends mentioned to me the other day "So what are cookies, I should worry about them, right?"

    They're still no wiser and the best explanation was "you need them if you shop online otherwise it won't work". Unscrupulous types can still easily just not bother warning users, they're the ones to worry about.

    It's yet another case of only the honest actually following the law and as a result wasting legitimate peoples time and money implementing something that hasn't worked and won't be enforced.

    ICO obviously adhering to the rule of "Do as I say, don't do as a do!" with their implied consent then.

    PS - I still don't fully understand the 'rules', if GA is used on the site should that fall under the warning or just account for it in the site Ts and Cs? I think I'll just stick to self-analysing my apache logs to get user figures.

    gaarargghhhh

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Another HUGE waste of of time and money.

    Good 'ole England!

    1. dougal83
      Pirate

      *Ahem. Good 'ole EU!

      Anyways when was the 'no tracking' option on browsers not a good move by the industry? Interruption everyone's browsing for the sake of notification of cookies is pretty retarded accumulated waste of time when the majority could not give a poop.

  14. Cynical Shopper
    FAIL

    Thanks ICO

    What a complete waste of time and money for everyone. I hope somebody sues them.

    1. Frankee Llonnygog

      Re: Thanks ICO

      Having just checked out their revised cookie warning, I have serious concerns about the ICO's website. I think I'll report them to the ICO

  15. Andrew Jones 2

    As I pointed out at the time, yet another EU legislation has been forced onto the UK that is supposed to be Europe wide but yet again - the only country stupid enough to obey - was us - the rest of Europe said - "That's nice, but we won't be implementing that one thanks" just as they have on so many other useless, restrictive laws that we are the only country to take seriously enough to waste time and money implementing while the rest of Europe just points and laughs.

  16. teebie

    PR

    "so that we can get reliable information to make our website better"

    That doesn't sound like a sentence that came from someone who knows what they are talking about.

  17. Gannon (J.) Dick
    Childcatcher

    Cookie little girl ?

    What ? You mean it's not just fine again ?

  18. Winkypop Silver badge
    FAIL

    The Internet is safe now, everyone back in

    Cookie crisis averted.

    Children now safe.

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