Minister Henk Kamp relaxes the cookie law. This makes it possible to abolish pop-ups that explicitly ask for permission for the placement of cookies. The minister wrote this in a letter to the House of Representatives on Monday. In February, it became clear that a majority in the House of Representatives wanted to get rid of the pop-ups that keep appearing to ask for permission to place cookies. The PvdA believed that the law missed its target because people automatically click 'yes'.
Bar
VVD member of parliament Bart de Liefde proposed to work with a system where users see a bar with information about the cookies. They can always indicate that they do not want cookies. After a while, the notification disappears with the assumption that the user has read the message. The minister then indicated he was somewhat in favor of this but was unsure if it was legally possible.
Implicit
He now writes that a system is possible in which the user, when he first visits a site, is clearly informed about cookie usage. If he clicks through afterward, implicit consent for the use of cookies is given.
Cookies
Following European regulations, it was agreed last year that websites must ask users for permission if they want to place cookies for advertising purposes, web statistics, or social media buttons. Only cookies that are necessary for the functioning of the site may be placed without consent.
Statistics
Kamp wrote on Monday that he wants to fulfill the wish of the House to limit the number of cookies for which permission must be requested. Cookies that are only intended to collect web statistics can therefore again be placed without consent, provided that data is not shared with third parties.
Balance
The minister stated in a response that he found a balance between privacy protection and user-friendliness. "I find it very important that the privacy of internet users is protected," said the minister. "At the same time, we must ensure that this protection does not go too far and that citizens do not experience unnecessary inconvenience."
Kamp is expected to send the bill to the House of Representatives in the fall.
source: NU.nl/Lucas Benschop.
