Cookies, FTC, and Privacy: Why You Should Care About Them

Cookies have attracted a lot of attention recently. I mean the tracking kind, not the edible kind in Christmassy patterns and colors.

ScanScout, an online advertiser, recently resolved an FTC enforcement action regarding language in its privacy policy (“PP”) on cookies. The ScanScout PP claimed that users could set their browsers to block the cookies they use to collect information about users in order to serve them targeted advertising. However, it turns out that the tracking cookies they were using were flash cookies that could not be blocked as stated. The FTC found this to be misleading and the enforcement action ensued.

What does this mean for you or your business?

Use of cookies

Please consider not using flash cookies if you are currently doing so or considering it. Many people consider flash cookies to be deceptive and invasive. In fact, a primer on flash cookies by the Electronic Privacy Information Center shows that the breadth of information collected by these cookies is likely beyond the comfort zone of today’s privacy-conscious consumers.

Have a privacy policy

Yes, it can be tempting to simply solve this problem without having a PP. After all, if you don’t have a PP, you can’t be found to be violating it, right? Maybe, but you create other risks by deciding not to have a PP. First, consumers have been increasingly skeptical about having anything to do with websites that don’t have privacy policies, so you could be losing business. Second, not having a PP will prevent you from using certain useful services (such as Google Analytics, which requires users to post a privacy policy) and running promotions or contests using many social media platforms.

Check the cookie practices in your Privacy Policy

Please ensure that you fully understand their cookie practices and those of any third party (such as Google Analytics) that provides applications or tools that it uses to interface with users. Your PP must specify exactly which cookies are used, whether they are persistent, whether you use flash cookies, how you use the information obtained from cookies (eg, use the information for targeted internal or external marketing), whether you share the collected information with third parties. parties, and how users can block cookies (including providing a mechanism to block flash cookies, a key requirement of ScanScout’s consent decree). Finally, if you use third-party services that use cookies, consider consulting the third-party service’s cookie policy on your PP.

Finally, if you are going to make changes to your website’s privacy policy, make sure they are properly published to your customers and/or users, ideally with a click mechanism where they must accept the new privacy policy before accessing. . Your place.

What do you think about the use of cookies for marketing?