Linklaters teams up with Magus to help clients develop cookie strategy
Linklaters has joined forces with governance compliance company Magus to help businesses make sense of new European data privacy rules.
The EU rules on internet cookies that came into effect on 26 May 2011 require website owners to obtain consent from visitors for the use of certain information-collecting cookies.
Cookies, which are small text files, can be used for a variety of purposes such as analysing consumer browsing habits or remembering internet users’ payment details.
Although European countries were supposed to have implemented the new rules into their national laws by 25 May, few have provided guidance on what organisations should do in practice in order to be compliant. In May, the UK Government declared that UK websites had one year to comply with cookie laws.
Linklaters and Magus will carry out technical reviews of their clients’ websites and follow up with legal recommendations to help establish a Europe-wide plan for compliance.
In a statement, Linklaters TMT partner Marly Didizian said: “This is a great opportunity for us to show our multi-jurisdictional capabilities and we look forward to helping our clients adapt to meet the requirements that this legislation demands and may demand over time.”
Magus CEO Simon Lande added: “Combined with the legal expertise from Linklaters, this will enable businesses to manage their cookie usage on an ongoing basis, and develop an informed strategy for addressing the ePrivacy Directive.”
Facebook is currently facing criticism over allegations that it is ‘tracking’ logged-out users by delivering cookies to visitors’ web browsers that can track visits to other websites.
The social media giant denies cookie tracking.
