The European Union recently distributed new guidelines governing compliance with the e-Privacy Directive. This directive requires that online users be informed of cookies before they are set.

The EU has taken the position that cookies should be proactively disclosed and agreed to before they are set and it is the responsibility of the site operator to comply with the e-Privacy Directive.

Who is Subject to the e-Privacy Directive?

According to the EU website linked above, "An organisation based in the UK is likely to be subject to the requirements of the Regulations even if their website is technically hosted overseas. Organisations based outside of Europe with websites designed for the European market, or providing products or services to customers in Europe, should consider that their users in the UK and Europe will clearly expect information and choices about cookies to be provided." 

What's a Cookie?

Cookies are bits of data that are placed in a person's browser by a website.  The most common uses of cookies are to make the online experience easier, by remembering recent activity or user preferences.  However, cookies are also responsible for the fact that the ad for those Piperlime shoes is following you around the web.

How Does Hoop.la Handle Cookies?

In order to support our Hoop.la customers who need to comply with this directive, we are offering some sample text that can be included in your Terms of Service.  

Remember that Hoop.la includes a mechanism to require agreement to your TOS before users can participate in your community, and even to require existing members to agree again if/when changes are made (at your discretion).

If you are running third-party ads on your Hoop.la site, you may also want to include wording that covers the cookies that may be set by those as well.

Note: We are not attorneys, and we don't play them on TV. This wording is offered as an explanation of how Hoop.la handles cookies, to support your compliance efforts.  If you're concerned about complying with the EU e-Privacy Directive, we strongly recommend that you consult a solicitor who is familiar with it.

Cookies Associated with the Hoop.la Community Platform

 

Our website uses the Hoop.la community platform. Hoop.la, in order to enhance your experience with the site, may use any or all of the following types of cookies: session cookies used for load balancing purposes, a “remember me” cookie which must be proactively enabled by the user, authentication cookies that support session timeout recovery, a user ID cookie, a time-of-visit cookie, and a last authentication cookie. None of these cookies contain any personally identifiable information, and do not track user’s activities beyond this specific Hoop.la site.

 

Additionally, Hoop.la sites may place Google Analytics cookies, which provide aggregated user data to the administrator. These cookies do not contain any personally identifiable information either.

 

By registering with our site, you are agreeing that you are aware of, and accept the possible placement of, these cookies.

Additional Resources

ComputerWeekly.com: http://www.computerweekly.com/...-the-new-cookies-law

Comparitech Article: https://www.comparitech.com/bl...-cookie-legislation/