Cookie policy for UN websites

13 views
Skip to first unread message

Alex Faundez

unread,
Aug 26, 2015, 9:11:12 AM8/26/15
to Geneva Web Group
Hi all,

This maybe is a question for UN colleagues only, but anyone feel free to provide input.

I have noticed that many websites display a message about cookies on the first visit. It's kinda annoying and you are requested to click OK.

I would like to know whether there is a cookie policy in place for UN websites, or is this just for commercial websites?

And in general, is this something that is mandatory for websites?

Thank you in advance!


a
 
 
 
Content strategist and online communications specialist
faunde...@gmail.com

Founder of Geneva Content Strategy Meetup

alexandr...@unctad.org // unctad.org

Alexander Teleki

unread,
Aug 26, 2015, 9:54:47 AM8/26/15
to Alex Faundez, Geneva Web Group
Hi Alex,

In theory, if your site is either in the EU or targeted to EU citizens, you have to give the option to user to refuse cookies. However, some cookies (eg session cookies) are exempt of this.


Lot of debate around this issue, as it is not really effective and practically impossible to enforce (especially for sites outside of the EU).

As a UN website, I would imagine you would want to be as compliant as possible, but if your cookies fall into the exemptions (I would imagine you are not using Google cookies for remarketing AdWord campaigns for example) you should be OK.

However, if you do add this to your site, make sure it is a unobtrusive as possible, especially on mobile devices. I have seen sites where the "OK" button is either too small or not even visible on a phone, so unable to visit the site!

All the best!

Alexander Teleki



--
The Geneva Web Group is a Community of Practice for Internet professionals. Informal meetings are held in Geneva, Switzerland 3-4 times per year.
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Geneva Web Group" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to geneva-web-gro...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to geneva-w...@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geneva-web-group.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

Daniel Lemon

unread,
Aug 26, 2015, 9:54:48 AM8/26/15
to Alex Faundez, Geneva Web Group
I suppose this helps explain things ?

http://www.cookielaw.org/the-cookie-law/



--
The Geneva Web Group is a Community of Practice for Internet professionals. Informal meetings are held in Geneva, Switzerland 3-4 times per year.
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Geneva Web Group" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to geneva-web-gro...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to geneva-w...@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geneva-web-group.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
--

Hugo Jacquet

unread,
Aug 26, 2015, 10:11:03 AM8/26/15
to Alex Faundez, Geneva Web Group
Hi Alex,

As far as I know about it, it is not clear if UN websites should use it or not.

That obligation came from the European Union that issued a law to regulate the use of cookies, and noticeably to ask websites to alert their users that they were using cookie for privacy and security purposes.
Therefore it should normally be an obligation for websites inside the EU or websites serving audience inside the EU to comply with the different rules implied by that law.

But as the UN has a very particular status and position, firstly with a kind of extra-territory situation, it is tricky to define if it complies with the rules of the EU or if it is exempted. Unfortunately that is all that I know about that until now.

It is already not very clear at country levels due to their proper laws and regulations. For example the UK has a different implementation mechanisms that are somehow similar to EU.


Best regards.

Hugo

On Wed, Aug 26, 2015 at 3:09 PM, Alex Faundez <faunde...@gmail.com> wrote:

--

Genc Kastrati

unread,
Aug 26, 2015, 11:04:05 AM8/26/15
to Daniel Lemon, Alex Faundez, Geneva Web Group
Hi Alex,

As Alexandre points out, some cookies might be exempt so worth checking to see what your server sends to users. You might find surprises! Some CMS-s do their own cookie thing.

The new Global Fund website will notify users that we are using cookies. We want to be compliant and we are actually going to start using cookies with the new site to help a recently visited feature. As many have pointed out here, it is best to be compliant, also because it is the UN and it would be best to not have people say that the UN is not compliant :)

The big question is does the law require all hosts under a specific domain to be compliant, for example: www.google.com, analytics.google.com, etc. Don't know enough about this.

All the best,
G

Alex Faundez

unread,
Aug 27, 2015, 5:02:11 AM8/27/15
to Genc Kastrati, Daniel Lemon, Geneva Web Group
Thanks everyone!

My idea was to get a confirmation as to whether the UN had already the issue, it seems that it's not yet the case.
We have tight deadlines for the conference we're currently bulding (it has to be ready by September), so we're taking a lot of shortcuts and putting this cookie message issue in the "to-do in the future, if we have time, which we never do" list. :-)

a

 
 
 
Content strategist and online communications specialist
faunde...@gmail.com

Founder of Geneva Content Strategy Meetup

alexandr...@unctad.org // unctad.org

Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages