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So I've been on a couple of websites and I saw a notice bar at the top saying this:

This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

I know what cookies are and stuff. My question is why haven't I seen these messages a couple of years ago? Is it because there's something else they've added into their "cookie agreement" or is it now required for them to add it?

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from http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-05/25/cookies-made-simple :

Who needs to comply with it?

The law applies to all member states of the European Union. Websites outside of the EU must comply with the law if they are targeting people within member states. So a website based in the USA that sells to people in the UK will also have to comply.

also, from http://webmasters.stackexchange.com/questions/29775/does-the-eu-cookie-law-apply-to-an-eu-site-that-is-hosted-outside-of-the-eu :

The UK Information commisioner says in their guidance document on cookies:

"An organisation based in the UK is likely to be subject to the requirements of the Regulations even if their website is technically hosted overseas."
So it depends on where you are based, not where you are hosted

How you choose to comply with it is up to you, and will likely depend on the popularity of your site(s), as well as obviously depending on what cookies you're storing on user machines (if any). Check the first link I gave you, and do a little googling, there's plenty of stuff out there, here's a few I picked out:

http://econsultancy.com/uk/blog/10205-20-examples-of-eu-cookie-law-compliance

http://www.spiderscope.com/blog/post.asp?post=does_the_eu_cookie_law_affect_my_website_73

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/london/uk-cookie-law-takes-effect-what-you-need-to-know/4910

http://econsultancy.com/uk/blog/9610-q-a-the-ico-s-dave-evans-on-eu-cookie-law-compliance

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How you choose to comply with it is up to you, and will likely depend on the popularity of your site(s), as well as obviously depending on what cookies you're storing on user machines (if any). Check the first link I gave you, and do a little googling, there's plenty of stuff out there, here's a few I picked out:

Thanks for that! I might as well add it as it won't hurt lol. Can I add it to the privacy policy and before registration, I make them agree to it?

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Thanks for that! I might as well add it as it won't hurt lol. Can I add it to the privacy policy and before registration, I make them agree to it?

It depends. Adding info to the registration page obviously will only inform those users registering for an account, not guests or existing members, and take note of the following, quoting from the first link:

You should not rely on the fact that users might have read a privacy policy that is perhaps hard to find or difficult to understand.

Your suggestion might be fine if you have a link to the policy on every page, and the policy is simple.

A lot of sites seem to simply be adding a 'cookies' hyperlink in their masthead, or modifying their existing 'privacy policy' link to 'privacy policy & cookies', you don't need to go all out with a big banner message, unless perhaps you're talking about a hugely popular site, though Amazon UK are huge and only have a tiny link at the very bottom, whether that's enough for them though, who knows, only time will tell.

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