Http Cookies
Not so long ago, in 2009, the European Commission passed a law regulating the use of cookies for all companies operating in the internet. The deadline for the adoption of the law was May 2011, only 3 of the European Countries embraced such regulation; Denmark, Estonia and UK, which as of realizing it wasn’t really something enforceable gave a “grace” period for companies to adapt to it.
The fact is 92% of websites use cookies for one thing or another, and most probably, all sites you’re visiting are breaking the law.
Find here a video from Silktide that briefly illustrates in 2 minutes all the basics of the law you need to know. Scroll to the bottom of the page to watch it!
A cookie, also known as an HTTP cookie, web cookie, or browser cookie, is used for an origin website to send state information to a user‘s browser and for the browser to return the state information to the origin site. The state information can be used for authentication, identification of a user session, user’s preferences, shopping cart contents, or anything else that can be accomplished through storing text data on the user’s computer.
Cookies cannot be programmed, cannot carry viruses, and cannot install malware on the host computer. However, breaches of browser security can allow tracking cookies to be placed which are then used as spyware to track user’s browsing activities—a major privacy concern that prompted European and US law makers to take action. The security of a cookie generally depends on the security of the issuing website and the user’s web browser. If not implemented correctly, a cookie’s data can be intercepted by a hacker to gain unapproved access to the user’s data and possibly to the originating website.
Source: Wikipedia
Find here a video from Silktide that briefly illustrates in 2 minutes all the basics of the law you need to know!