Back in 2012, the European Union passed a law requiring websites to give visitors a warning regarding browser cookies. These pop-ups or banner warnings are now common place across the web and were initially intended to protect user privacy but for the most part, they are just seen as an annoying box getting in the way of whatever content you are trying to access. It seems the European Union now also agrees with that and has proposed new regulations to do away with cookie pop-up warnings.

We initially saw a drafted version of the proposed law back in December but this week, the European Commission officially unveiled its proposal. The plan is to essentially remove website banners that provide disclaimers on browser cookies. A user’s browser preference in regards to cookies will automatically apply to sites they visit instead.

So going forward if this goes through, websites will need permission to track your usage through cookies. They get this permission from your browser itself, so if you care enough to switch off cookies within your browser, then that preference will apply to all websites you visit going forward. If these new rules go through, then the changes will come into effect starting in May 2018.

KitGuru Says: At this point, I have pretty much got used to the constant cookie reminders but they can still be a bit of a nuisance. Would you guys like to see the EU do away with cookie notification laws, or do you think they are important for informing users?

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