What does Cookie Consent mean?
Generally speaking, Cookie consent is the term used to describe the process when a website user gives his/her consent by letting the website activate its trackers and cookies that later process users' data. The Cookie consent is a required legal basis right under the GDPR for all types of websites to have it and gain access and ability to collect, manage, process or even share the user's data within the EU only.
Besides those mentioned above, Cookie consent is considered one of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation cornerstones. Hence, Cookie consent is the primary way websites make sure they have lawful processing of personal data of individuals right from their website users.
What does Cookie policy mean?
A cookie policy is a standard declaration to all those users using the website. Through the Cookie Policy declaration, users gain information on what cookies are active on their website, what user's personal data the site tracks, for what aim, and wherein the world - this personal data is shared or sent. The cookie policy contains quite a lot of information on how the website's users can opt-out of the website cookies, change, or withdraw the site settings in terms of the cookies on the website.
Most website owners worldwide prefer to incorporate the cookie policy declaration as to the main section of their privacy policy. What does that mean? As a website owner, it means that you may also leave the website cookie policy on your website as a so-called stand-alone section. Regardless, the users are legally required by the Californian CCPA and the European GDPR to have one available to all their users on your website.
The privacy policy is a standard document; it only covers one page on the website. All of the purposes and methods of the personal data processing activities are outlined on the website. It consists of mailing lists, contact forms, and many more.
Cookies are also a potential privacy risk since they can store, track, and share user data and behavior on the website. Whereas most existing standard privacy policies can appear static, the cookie policy used on a site is usually dynamic and may change quite often. Hence, an adequate and compliant cookie policy should be time by time updated to ensure that all the information is respectful and accurate.
What does the GDPR mean?
The term GDPR means the "General Data Protection Regulation," which is an EU data privacy law. The General Data Protection Regulation manages all processing of data of users within the EU. Besides, it requires all types of websites to request and gains explicit and prior consent from website users before processing any amount of personal data. It is important to foreground the parts of personal data. It consists of users' personal information, such as names, ID numbers, addresses, location data, information about their appearance, genetics, health, as well as online identifiers, for example, cookies, browser and searches history, and users' IP addresses.
The main aim of the General Data Protection Regulation is to bring the EU's data protection legislation search right up-to-date, together with the digital age, to restore control over their data to the website users, and protecting users' privacy.
The latest law published mainly on protecting users' data goes back to 1995. The General Data Protection Regulation now sets out quite strict requirements for users' data transparency, handling procedures documentation, and user cookie consent.
Personal data in the GDPR
The General Data Protection Regulation officially defines a user's personal data as any information connected to an identifiable or even an identified natural person (also called a 'data subject'); in which an identifiable person can be the one who is easily identified, indirectly or directly, particularly by reference to an identifier person information like a name, location data, an identification number, an online identifier or even one or more specific factors related to the mental, genetic, physiological, physical, economic, social or cultural identity of that person. Within the online identifier platforms, IP addresses are now qualified as individual data unless anonymized.
Besides the above discussed, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) holds personal data, like a name, an email address, a photo, IP address, bank details, etc. The data may combine in a way that can identify and single out each website user. The website you own or an organization usually processes the data, living it up to the General Data Protection Regulation requirements.
Why is it essential to have cookie consent on your website?
Cookies on websites usually track site users in various ways. For example, the IP address of website users will be stored, collected, and shared, or merely the behavior and actions of users within websites. Personal user data is described widely in the EU's GDPR document as any information about an individual indirectly or directly or through reference to an identifier, like an IP address.
General Data Protection Regulation generally sets out some legal bases for the data collection and process. The data collected is stored via cookie consent. That is why – if the website has cookies – you must have the cookie consent of all your users before any data collection or processing. Nore that your General Data Protection Regulation Cookie Consent must allow user consents to be in line with the following requirements:
- Prior – Before any data processing, it is also known as 'prior consent.
- Transparent – Given based on specific and precise information regarding personal data purposes and types.
- Must be documented – Securely stored and recorded as proof that cookie consent has been given.
- Unambiguous – Given as a positive, affirmative action.
- Renewed – Cookie Consent must annually be renewed. But, some national personal data protection guidelines suggest more frequent renewals, like six months. For compliance, it is recommended that you check the local data protection guide.
- Reversible – The website users must be capable of withdrawing their cookie consent whenever they want.
The role of the GDPR Cookie Consent for a website
The two significant aspects are essential for all website owners: this is how owners control and store users' data, cookies, and tracking in use on their websites. To align with the requirements, website owners must ensure a compliant and thorough set up for storing and getting the cookie consents on their websites.
1. How website owners store manages users’ data in general. The key questions to ask yourself are the following:
– What user's data are you collecting? Do you need this data to get it through cookies, or can you get them without using cookies? Can you detect and withdraw personal data if a user asks for it? Is the users' data securely stored? Etc.
2. The tracking and cookies in use on their website:
–It goes for either first-party or third-party cookie policy in use on their website. It is noteworthy that all cookies may be combined to detect a person, directly or potentially, once the website owner has the user's consent to it.
Nowadays, there may be approximately 100 cookies and tracking technologies in use on various websites, and website owners often do not even have a clear picture of the tracking process on their websites.
All cookies that track users' personal data are directly subject to the GDPR. In practice, it means most cookies, like cookies for analytics, cookies for available services, cookies for advertising, survey, and chat tools. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) also says that website owners will have to revise their own website's cookie policy and privacy policy to meet cookie transparency and accuracy requirements.
What are the GDPR Cookie Consent examples?
In 2002, when the ePrivacy Directive was implemented, cookie consent banners rapidly flooded the net In the EU. As a result, it soon became commonly known as "the cookie law" for the same reason. After 25 May 2018 – the date of the enforcement of the GDPR – "accept cookies" banners were no longer in use. Since the publishment of the EDPB guides about valid consent in May 2020, all types of websites must be aware of the following:
– Scrolling and browsing on any website is not considered valid consent.
– Website users must give affirmative and clear consent to the processing of the data.
– All pre-ticked checkboxes are non-compliant together with the GDPR on website cookie banners.
– Cookies must be withdrawn by default, except for all the necessary cookies.
– Cookie walls are non-compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation.
It means that the old cookie consent pop-ups are mainly featured only with an OK button without durations, cookie types, purposes, and third-party data shared with. EDPB and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) guides on valid cookie consent in the EU has cemented the legal fact that all sites should gain the informed, specific, affirmative and explicit cookie consent from website user right before any activation of cookies collection and processing of data that may take place.
How can the user delete or change a cookie consent?
According to the GDPR Article 29 and Article 7.3, the Data Protection Working Party (WP29) updated guides on transparency right under the regulation that was dated back in 2016/679; it has to be as simple for the site user to delete a cookie consent as it was to give in the last place. It must be apparent to the site user – when the website user is requested for consent about the use of the personal data - that the cookie consent might be deleted at any time.
The chance for the site user to change a cookie consent is automatically included in the template for the Cookie Declaration. It may be implemented as a single page on a website or embedded right into the Privacy Policy.
Suppose you, as a website owner, have already successfully implemented the Cookie Declaration. In that case, the website user will see the current cookie consent, change the support, or altogether cancel the consent. However, as an alternative, the website user may permanently delete, alter or withdraw a cookie consent through deleting all website cookies for his/her domain web browser or via deleting the two specific website cookies such as "CookieConsentBulkTicket" and "CookieConsent."
How does the demonstration and logging of a user cookie consent work?
Whenever a website user submits a cookie consent, the user's personal, i.e., individual cookie consent statement, is automatically stored in the first central part. This cookie section is named "CookieConsent" on the website visitor's web browser together with a random, anonymous, unique, and encrypted key. When you, as the website owner, want to show that the website user (i.e., data subject) and has given consent to the data processing of the user's personal data, the data subject should be provided to the consent key from the user's web browser so that the website owner can look up the cookie consent in the site's consent log and give details regarding the cookie consent and can show the attributes and existence of the submitted cookie consent.
This method ensures that the individual's data subject remains anonymous and only needs to reveal the user's identity when cookie consent is provided, for instance, because the authorities require it. The encrypted key may also be used in order to verify that the cookie consent has not been modified via the data subject or by a malicious third-party service right after it was submitted from the website.