The “Cookie Law”
Cookies are small text files set on your computer at the request of a website, and are sent back to that website on subsequent visits until the cookies expire. Cookies are used to implement any feature that remembers you between visits. Examples include shopping carts and password-protected content.
In 2009 the European Parliament passed directive 2009/136/EC, amending the previous E-Privacy Directive of 2003. Reflecting concerns about the use of tracking cookies (cookies whose sole purpose is to track which websites you are visiting in order to target advertising at you), the new directive requires websites to obtain visitors’ consent for non-essential cookies.
European directives are not law in themselves; they instead require EU member states to amend their national laws to achieve the aims of the directive. Problems with the directive have meant that few member states have done so to date, with the United Kingdom being one of the few exceptions.
The United Kingdom government passed The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 in response to the directive. The “Cookie Law” is the unofficial name for section 6 of the regulations, which covers the use of cookies.
Use of Cookies in the Portal
The portal uses both essential and non-essential cookies, unfortunately without the use of these cookies the portal will not operate, by using the cloud portal you are accepting the use of those cookies.
We use the following cookies for the following purposes on our site:
- Security – used to identify you
- User Preferences – used to store your preferences e.g. your dashboard layout once registered
- Track Site Usage – we anonymously track site usage to help us optimise our site for customers
Close
