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Web Analytics Illegal in UK after 26 May? Crazy

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Re: Web Analytics Illegal in UK after 26 May? Crazy

#11

Post by icebraining »

jgrahamc wrote: post #7

If you read right to the end of the actual guidance from the ICO it says: --- We only use analytical cookies – if nobody consents that will seriously restrict the amount of information we can get to improve and develop our website The Regulations do not distinguish between cookies used for analytical activities and those used for other purposes. We do not consider analytical cookies fall within the ‘strictly necessar…

Frankly, their policy seems sensible and I'm having an hard time giving a fuck about the webmasters (is this still used?).

If you want to track, do it properly with a package installed on your own server. stop subjecting your users to Google's All-Seeing Eye just because using their Analytics is easier for you.

Re: Web Analytics Illegal in UK after 26 May? Crazy

#13

Post by vasco »

Who is forcing users to go to a website? I consider a website the same as someone's house. While I'm interacting with their server its obvious they'll want to know what I'm doing.

Its tracking people outside of a website's scope that should be allowed only with consent, such as facebook tracking people when they go to sites with a like button and so on

Re: Web Analytics Illegal in UK after 26 May? Crazy

#16

Post by mattmanser »

toyg wrote: post #10
jgrahamc wrote: post #7

If you read right to the end of the actual guidance from the ICO it says: --- We only use analytical cookies – if nobody consents that will seriously restrict the amount of information we can get to improve and develop our website The Regulations do not distinguish between cookies used for analytical activities and those used for other purposes. We do not consider analytical cookies fall within the ‘strictly necessar…

Translation: we don't want to sue you, this law is to go after Facebook and Google.

I don't know where on earth you picked up this conspiracy theory but it's not.

If you'd been following this whole mess you'd know it's just a typical EU nonsense legislation that no-one knows how to implement and the UK is once again implementing it too harshly in law but giving it absolutely no teeth by creating a practically powerless and massively underfunded enforcement vehicle while our EU brethren quietly ignore it.

No big conspiracy, just your bog standard bureaucratic incompetence from the EU.

Re: Web Analytics Illegal in UK after 26 May? Crazy

#17

Post by synx508 »

icebraining wrote: post #11
jgrahamc wrote: post #7

If you read right to the end of the actual guidance from the ICO it says: --- We only use analytical cookies – if nobody consents that will seriously restrict the amount of information we can get to improve and develop our website The Regulations do not distinguish between cookies used for analytical activities and those used for other purposes. We do not consider analytical cookies fall within the ‘strictly necessar…

Frankly, their policy seems sensible and I'm having an hard time giving a fuck about the webmasters (is this still used?). If you want to track, do it properly with a package installed on your own server. stop subjecting your users to Google's All-Seeing Eye just because using their Analytics is easier for you.

This isn't about third party cookies, it's about cookies period - with the exceptions listed in the article. If you use your own analytics package, the chances are it will use cookies, so user permission will still be required. Log parsing isn't sufficient to get user-based statistics.

Re: Web Analytics Illegal in UK after 26 May? Crazy

#18

Post by jamiecurle »

dalore wrote: post #8
Nikkau wrote: post #2

Question : how do you remembers that users say no without cookie?

You remember the ones who say yes. As for the ones who say no, you ask them every time until they say yes. So I guess the system works.

What you're suggesting sounds like a dark pattern to me.

Re: Web Analytics Illegal in UK after 26 May? Crazy

#19

Post by uggedal »

synx508 wrote: post #17
icebraining wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Frankly, their policy seems sensible and I'm having an hard time giving a fuck about the webmasters (is this still used?). If you want to track, do it properly with a package installed on your own server. stop subjecting your users to Google's All-Seeing Eye just because using their Analytics is easier for you.

This isn't about third party cookies, it's about cookies period - with the exceptions listed in the article. If you use your own analytics package, the chances are it will use cookies, so user permission will still be required. Log parsing isn't sufficient to get user-based statistics.

You can get user-based statistics without cookies with:

    (new Image()).src="http://your.tld/track.png?ua=" + encodeURIComponent(navigator.userAgent);
and then parse your logs.

Update: this is just an example, as ars notes the user agent is sent as a HTTP header. But screen resolution etc is not.

Re: Web Analytics Illegal in UK after 26 May? Crazy

#20

Post by icebraining »

synx508 wrote: post #17
icebraining wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Frankly, their policy seems sensible and I'm having an hard time giving a fuck about the webmasters (is this still used?). If you want to track, do it properly with a package installed on your own server. stop subjecting your users to Google's All-Seeing Eye just because using their Analytics is easier for you.

This isn't about third party cookies, it's about cookies period - with the exceptions listed in the article. If you use your own analytics package, the chances are it will use cookies, so user permission will still be required. Log parsing isn't sufficient to get user-based statistics.

Yes, but they also say "we are highly unlikely to prioritise first party cookies used only for analytical purposes in any consideration of regulatory action."

So in theory all cookies are the same, in practice they're not - first party analytical cookies are mostly safe.

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