Affiliate Cookie Law Guide

[Admin]

Just published by Affiliate Future, their view of the new UK Cookie Law

click here

 

[Paullas]

Could this be the final nail in the affiliate coffin.

 

[Blossom]

Could this be the final nail in the affiliate coffin.

It applies to analytics cookies too, and I doubt anyone in their right mind would give those up.

Easier to comply until they realise it's a stupid law and ditch it.

 

[scooter]

These are good:
http://demos.dev.wolf-software.com/

One there for analytics too.





.

 

[iamrofe]

would love to see them enforce this, shit law.

 

[cc976a]

Am I missing something in my naivety.

People talk about it crushing affiliate sites, but aren't affiliates using an ID in a URL. Now I get the visitor may have to then agree to T&Cs on the retailer site, but (unless your site uses cookies to track users, adding items to basket before sending to retailer) are affiliates using 'cookies'?

Is the concern:

1. Can't track a user on the retailers site through an aff ID until user confirms acceptance at retailer - meaning loss of commissions for any user who don't

2. Affiliates now using cookies on their site, with no other way of passing through buyer to seller without having them present

?

Most stupidest damn law I've ever heard. Aff Window summed up well by saying average Joe don't know and don't care.

With the amount of crap we do get (intrusive sales calls and texts) and our data used in such a illegal or unethical way most of the time, to actually spend time and money affecting so many business users - without good reason and can affect profits of SME's - is absurd beyond belief. Serves no purpose.

Nothing worse than a clueless prat in a suit

 

[Admin]

I think the concern is that your introduction to the retailer (using your affiliate link that includes your id) is put into a cookie that lasts X days. During these X days, if that visitor makes a purchase you will get the credit and therefore the affiliate commission at X percent of the basket price.

If your user decides not to accept the cookies but use the site anyway, you as the introducer get no credit and therefore the system breaks down and your commissions will decrease significantly.

I think it's human nature to say no if someone says, do you mind if I track behind the scenes everything you do, yes or no?

Admin

 

[murph]

Surely surfers are either going to be concerned about privacy or not... No need for a per-site check, which will annoy users more than anything?!
It really needs to be done at the browser level, and be something the user has to switch off themselves (because cookies off will break so much site functionality).
Since this is already done... Surely the money should be spent on educating users about the choice and where/how to implement in their browser.
A ridiculous unenforceable law.

 

[saberace]

nothing worse than a clueless prat in a suit

+ 1

Also, am probably being a bit naive here but AFAIK none of my aff sites actually issue cookies. The cookie is downloaded when the visitor clicks a link to an aff network or merchant, and its is they who issue the cookie. As it didn't come from my site, there is no way I can access it or any of the data. So the visitor would have to accept the cookie from the merchant site, which they're unlikely to decline as the cookie is needed for tracking their shopping basket and allowing them to actually purchase the goods.

Again, am probably being naive here but wondered what others opinions on this are.

 

[WealdDomains]

A very interesting article : it's good to see the topic gaining visibility with the public through mainstream sources like this. Besides the generic and government aspects, one particular phrase that leapt out at me was the refusal of a public body to provide a response to a major news organisation : "The ICO did not want to comment on the issue when contacted by the BBC."

David

 

[cc976a]

It is an interesting article.

Frustrating considering the main aim of the law is to stop advertisers using cookies to look at search habits / sites visited of people to target them with relevant ads - something affiliates are not trying to do, but become affected.

I think either no-one will bother or care, and things stay the same as they have - or a workaround is done so ICO (upon complaint) just target the sites they really want to affect.

Sounds like a lot of hoo-ha for nothing

 

[monaghan]

Still had no reply from my MP and his site it is still dropping Google analytics, FB & Twitter and addthis without asking for consent

 

[monaghan]

Just went to make a mug of tea and found a reply from my MP!

He simply quotes his privacy policy and states the regulations are still being discussed and suggests I tweak my browser settings

 

[GeekSlash]

I've got a site that has thousands of pages that would have to be edited manually to comply. I was thinking that it might even be cheaper to set up an offshore company for that site rather than comply with this law for it which would take possibly up to a week to implement just for one site. I can imagine other big affiliates will move their sites out of the UK in order to comply, taking money out of the UK tax system at the same time.

 

[cc976a]

Anyone else delaying the launch of any new projects to see how this pans out?

 

[iamrofe]

as long as you are seen to be making an effort to be compliant you should be fine

http://t.co/ITgWjl6

 

[AssetDomains]

Affiliate Window have just published there take on the directive.
Full guide
And
Summary Info

 

[Nick11380]

Is anyone fighting this issue?

Our business is based on measuring progress and reporting on data through Google Analytics tracking - an essential and completely harmless use of a cookie. This law will completely remove that ability as when a user is asked if they would like to be tracked via cookies, they are clearly going to respond with an entirely uneducated but understandable 'no'.

As far as I'm aware, cookies are only ever mentioned in the mainstream media when it is relating to some kind of horrible scare mongering story about how Google can 'watch you' while you're sitting at your computer in your pants.

We're going to comply with this law, but it's totally out of line. Is there anyone in Government who has run a website let alone a successful one?!

 

[monaghan]

I had a long conversation with my MP's office in response to my complaint and it was clear that they had no idea of the impact of the law, even on their own site as it was non-compliant (and still is), even the No 10 website drops the usual set of GA cookies without permission

 

[addz123]

I read that article with Dave Evans on cookie law.

Few things seem to stick out.

1) Their team won't be trawling around the internet looking for websites that have cookies. They will simply respond to any major number of complaints. If it turns out the British public aren't bothered about cookies (which they won't be), then there's nothing to worry about anyway.

2) If enough users do complain about your website's cookies, they will just get in touch with you and try to educate you about cookie laws and find a workable solutions. There should be no consequences as long as you are happy to co-operate going forward.

3) There's plenty of wiggle room. Different sites need cookies for different uses. If your business loses a lot of money from users opting out of cookies, you'll get sympathy and they'll realise this isn't a workable solution.

4) They recognise sites aren't going to change overnight. Everyone is still finding a workable solution to this and no one is going to suddenly be prosecuted.

5) It seems to me that as long as you provide some attempt to educate users about your cookies, and provide a disclosure or something easily accessible on your website about collecting cookies, then you should be fine.