How The Cookie Crumbles: ICO Issues Last-Minute Amended Cookie Law Guidance

The grace period that the Information Commissioner's Office (the data protection regulator – the 'ICO') offered for compliance with the revised cookie law came to an end on Saturday, meaning that it's now 'business as usual' for the ICO when it comes to enforcement against organisations which do not obtain consent for cookie use.  To assist organisations to comply with this law, the ICO published updated guidance the day before - on Friday 25 May.

The key message of this new guidance is that implied consent through non-explicit means can be valid consent.  The ICO has recognised that obtaining active consent is not always the most appropriate method for organisations: "While explicit consent might allow for regulatory certainty [...] this does not mean that implied consent cannot be compliant."  This is in contrast to the previous ICO guidance which stated: "At present evidence demonstrates that general awareness of the functions and uses of cookies is simply not