Any person familiar with the internet will be aware of data cookies and should know why and how these are used.
Cookies track a person’s internet history and browsing habits in order to advertise to that person products or services they may be interested in. For example, have you ever wondered why when looking at holidays you start seeing more advertisements for holiday packages, and at times, these adverts appear on Facebook also. Whilst personalised adverts may be useful, the rules surrounding them mean a person should be made aware when cookies are being used and consent to their use.
General Data Protection regulations
The General Data Protection Regulations directly identify cookies and confirm that individual users must consent to their use. This is because the use of cookies when combined with other identifiers and information received from the server can be used to identify a person, which is then used to create profiles for them. In theory, the proper use of cookies could create a portfolio of a user not limited to only their shopping habits, but also their personality and lives.
In light of the above, users must consent to the use of cookies when accessing each website using them. You may be familiar with the pop-ups asking you to consent to the use of cookies and most likely would have had to deal with one when accessing this page. So how did Google and Facebook end up being fined £175,000,000 for their use of cookies?
On review of their use of cookies, it was found users were able to easily consent to the use of cookies however refusing cookies was more complicated. Users were more likely to simply accept cookies and this was held to be an abuse of their use. They have now been ordered to rectify this by making it simpler and more accessible for users to refuse cookies being used.
Whether users view the use of cookies to be good or bad, users of Google and Facebook should now have the ability to easily make that decision.
How can Nelsons help?
Stuart Parris is an Associate in our expert Dispute Resolution team.
Should you have any concerns about your personal data having been abused, please do not hesitate to contact Stuart or another member of the team in Derby, Leicester, or Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or via our online enquiry form.
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