Companies ignore website ‘cookie law’

More than three in four British businesses are ignoring online privacy regulations that came into force last month amid confusion about the so-called “cookie law”, research by KPMG has found.

In an analysis of 55 representative UK websites, and drawing on its own work for clients, the professional services firm found that only 20 percent were complying with the EU privacy directive, which came into force on May 26. That marks just a small improvement in compliance since a KPMG survey conducted before last month’s deadline, which found 95 percent of the same sample had failed to change their sites to obtain visitors’ consent for the use of cookies and other online tracking technologies. The Information Commissioner’s Office, which enforces the law in the UK, can fine site owners up to £500,000 for non-compliance. The ICO last week said it had received dozens of complaints from members of the public about sites using cookies without permission.