Security News > 2021 > September > British data watchdog brings cookies to G7 meeting – pop-up consent requests, not the delicious baked treats

Cookies are on the menu today for the G7 as the UK's Information Commissioner's Office proposes to the group of leading global economies that consent pop-ups should be reduced.

The ICO said it would call on fellow G7 data protection and privacy authorities - three of which used to be its fellow EU member states - to work together to overhaul cookie consent pop-ups to make people's privacy "More meaningfully protected" and help businesses offer "a better web browsing experience."

Information commissioner Elizabeth Denham, who is set to chair today's virtual meeting of G7 data protection authorities, plans to present an idea on how to improve the current cookie consent mechanism, making web browsing smoother and more business-friendly while better protecting personal data, an official statement said.

The EU's ePrivacy Directive, transposed into UK law since 2012 via the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, states that no cookies and trackers must be placed before prior consent from the user, besides those necessary for basic website function.

Responding to the ICO's call, Jim Killock, exec director of Open Rights Group, said: "The simple fact is that most cookie banners are unlawful, and the data collection behind them is, as her own report states, also unlawful."If the ICO wants to sort out cookie banners then it should follow its own conclusions and enforce the law.

Coincidentally, cookies were also high on the agenda for a recent report penned by a government task force and endorsed by the UK PM. In the report, lead author Iain Duncan Smith claimed an "Overemphasis on consent" led to "People being bombarded with complex consent requests."

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2021/09/07/ico_cookies_g7/