ICO: Most Top UK Websites Comply With Ad Cookie Regulations
More than 95% of the U.K.'s top 1,000 websites are in compliance with advertising cookie rules, the ICO said Thursday.
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The DPA said its check of the sites focused on "whether nonessential advertising cookies were stored on users' devices before they could choose to accept or reject them; whether rejecting nonessential cookies was as easy as accepting them; and whether any such cookies were placed without user consent."
Only 21 websites failed the assessment and are still undergoing ICO actions, it noted. Of those found to be compliant, 415 passed without any need for intervention.
The remaining 564 were brought into compliance after initially failing and subsequently engaging directly with the ICO via letters, investigations or, in some cases, preliminary enforcement notices, it said. The watchdog now wants to ensure that those websites "do not simply revert to their previously unlawful practices because they think it will go under the radar," said Tim Capel, interim executive director of regulatory supervision.
The ICO noted that it has also been encouraging better practices by engaging with trade bodies representing most of the industries that appear in the top 1,000 websites and the consent management platforms that provide their services to almost 80% of the top 500 websites. Consent management platforms have already made significant changes to ensure that their cookie banner options are compliant by default, the DPA said.
In addition, the office is working with stakeholders to determine whether publishers could deliver privacy-friendly online ads to users who haven't consented where they're a low risk to privacy, it said. It's exploring legislative amendments with the government and said it would update the status of that work next year.