EU Cookie Directive - May 2012

The European Union gave each member state a directive to bring into law the EU Cookie Directive. Only three countries complied on time, including the UK government which gave UK websites until May 2012 to comply.

The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations are response to the EU Privacy Directive, and has given web sites a May 26 2012 deadline to inform users of all cookies used on the site.

The Information Commissioners Office (ICO) is the official regulator that is tasked with enforcing the cookie law. There is an upper limit of £500,000 for serious breaches in the law.