By Owen Prior
This is the third blog in our series Navigating the Data Revolution: Your Guide to Third-Party Cookies, Consent Mode, and Data Privacy in 2024.
In the third and last instalment of our blog series on Cookies and Consent Mode in 2024, we’ll talk you through that old friend, the Cookie banner.
Late last year the ICO warned the UK’s top advertisers are still not fully compliant with data protection law. Displaying a cookie banner is only the start. That banner’s functionality, appearance, and wording are increasingly being put under the ICO’s microscope. So how do you know if your cookie banner complies with data protection law?
Here’s how to make sure you’re giving your site visitors easy access to the privacy which data privacy laws dictate.
Is my cookie banner compliant?
It’s not an easy question to answer in one article, so we will start with some basic tips, and leave our lines open for additional questions!
- NB – we have not been given a timeline for the following actions so there is no need to rush or panic, but do table time when you can to put the following measures in place!
- Firstly, make sure your cookie banner is set up to turn on cookies with the user’s consent, or keep them switched off if they say no
- Secondly, it must summarise the use of cookies on the website and their purpose…
- And third, based on the Information Commissioner’s latest announcement, you need to clearly display an accept all and reject all button.
To be sure where your site stands speak to a legal expert like Ryan Lisk at Hybrid Legal. Launch will be be hosting a webinar with Ryan on 19 March 2024.
Does my cookie banner need to say reject all?
Yes, the ICO have provided clear guidance in the past that websites need to make it as easy for users to reject all cookies as it is to accept them. This means displaying the reject all button as clearly as the accept all button. It’s not an empty threat either: the UK’s most visited websites which don’t comply have already been contacted and given short deadlines to change or face fines.
If a user rejects all cookies, will all my tracking stop working?
It really depends on the platforms you’re using. For cookie-based tracking tools expect to see a reduction in users and less conversions.
Worry not, there are alternatives already out there like Google Consent mode, Meta CAPI, and server-side tagging which can still provide insight into user behaviour and conversions.
The rejecting of all cookies also doesn’t mean relevant adverts can’t be displayed to users any more. Google’s Privacy Sandbox promises to be a safer alternative to cookies, allowing users to take control of their online privacy, while allowing advertisers the ability to display adverts users find relevant.
2024 will certainly seem like a wakeup call for many marketers. Tracking users’ behaviour or an advert’s conversion success is no longer about a single tracking tag.
That said, the wheels have been in motion for many years, and at Launch we’re confident that it will still be possible to measure success while protecting the privacy rights of every user on the web.
Need to know more?
This data consent checklist from the experts at Hybrid Legal is essential reading for marketing teams who want to ensure they are meeting data consent standards.
The Launch measurement team is here to help with any questions. Launch is a Google Premier partner and our experienced team is OneTrust certified, meaning we’ve got the knowledge and connections to help you work through your cookie and consent conundrums. Click here to get in touch.
This is the third blog in our series Navigating the Data Revolution: Your Guide to Third-Party Cookies, Consent Mode, and Data Privacy in 2024. For links to the other blogs in the series see below:
