Pressure on advertisers builds as cookie law deadline nears

Advertisers have just two months left before the law changes governing how they use cookies. With fines of up to £500,000 faced by companies that fail to obtain informed consent from their customers for tracking their behaviour, non-compliance with this EU e-privacy regulation, dubbed the Cookie Law, is simply not an option, warns ISBA.

Speaking at last week’s ISBA Annual Conference, ISBA president Jon Woods (Coca Cola general manager for Great Britain and Ireland), warned delegates that regulation around behavioural targeting would be the biggest regulatory challenge of 2012.

The deadline, which has already been deferred by one year to allow the industry to prepare, comes into effect on the 26 May.

David Ellison, ISBA’s marketing services manager, said: “Ensuring that our members are fully compliant by the deadline must be the focus. While it would seem that most advertisers are indeed well prepared, we would strongly urge those companies that have been slow off the mark to take extremely seriously the implications of non-compliance, and fast.”

John Whittingdale MP, chairman of the Culture, Media and Sports Select Committee, has also called for more consumer education around cookies.

“Central to the success of the new Cookies Law will be the consumer’s awareness of it and, in particular, the all-important icon which allows them to easily opt out of Online Behavioural Advertising,” Ellison continued.

ISBA has scheduled a further Cookie Law Compliance Briefing event for 18 April, giving members an opportunity to share their knowledge and progress so far.