Cookies

1. What are cookies?

Cookies are small text files that websites visited by users send to their devices, where they are stored and then sent back to the same websites on subsequent visits. So-called “third-party” cookies, by contrast, are set by a website other than the one the user is visiting. This is because a website may contain elements such as images, maps, sounds or specific links to pages on other domains that are hosted on servers other than that of the website being visited.

1. What are cookies used for?

Cookies serve various purposes: authentication, session monitoring, storing information about specific settings for users accessing the server, remembering preferences and so forth.

1. What are “technical” cookies?

These cookies are used for browsing or to provide a service requested by the user. They are not used for other purposes and are normally installed directly by the website owner.

Without these cookies, some operations would be impossible or would be more complex and/or less secure, such as online banking activities (viewing statements, transfers, paying bills, etc.), for which cookies allowing users to be identified and remain identified during the session are essential.

1. Are analytics cookies “technical” cookies?

No. The Data Protection Authority (see

) clarified that they may be treated as technical cookies only when used directly by the website owner to optimise the site, allowing aggregate information to be collected about user numbers and how they visit the site. Under these conditions, analytics cookies are subject to the same information and consent rules as technical cookies.

1. What are profiling cookies?

These cookies are used to track users' browsing activity and create profiles of their tastes, habits, choices and so on. They allow advertising messages to be sent to users' devices in line with preferences previously expressed while browsing online.

1. Is the user's consent required to install cookies on their device?

It depends on the purposes for which cookies are used and, therefore, whether they are “technical” or “profiling” cookies.

User consent is not required to install technical cookies, but an information notice must be provided under Article 13 of the Privacy Code. Profiling cookies, however, may be installed on the user’s device only after the user has given consent following the provision of simplified information.

1. How must the website owner provide the simplified privacy notice and request consent to the use of profiling cookies?

As established by the Data Protection Authority in the decision referred to in question 4, the notice must be structured in two layers.

When a user accesses a website, whether its home page or any other page, a banner must immediately appear containing an initial “short” notice, a request for consent to the use of cookies and a link to a more “detailed” notice. On that page, the user can find fuller information about cookies and choose which specific cookies to authorise.

1. How should the banner be designed?

The banner must be large enough to partially cover the content of the webpage the user is visiting. It must be removable only through an active action by the user, namely selecting an element on the underlying page.

1. What information must the banner contain?

The banner must state that the website uses profiling cookies, possibly including third-party cookies, which enable advertising messages to be sent in line with the user's preferences.

It must contain a link to the full privacy notice and state that the link can be used to refuse consent to the installation of any cookies.

It must explain that, by choosing to continue and “skip” the banner, the user consents to the use of cookies.

1. How can consent obtained through the banner be documented?

To record the consent obtained, the website owner may use a dedicated technical cookie, a relatively non-intrusive system that does not itself require further consent.

Where such “documentation” exists, the short notice need not be shown again on the user's second visit to the website. The user must nevertheless be able to refuse consent and/or change their choices easily at any time, for example by accessing the full notice, which must therefore be linked from every page of the website.

1. Can online consent to the use of cookies be requested only through a banner?

No. Website owners may always use methods other than the one identified by the Data Protection Authority in the above decision, provided that the chosen methods meet all legal requirements for valid consent.

1. Does the obligation to use a banner also apply to owners of sites using only technical cookies?

No. In that case, the website owner may inform users in the manner considered most appropriate, for example by including the relevant information in the privacy policy published on the site.

1. What must the “extended” notice state?

It must contain all legally required information, describe in detail the characteristics and purposes of the cookies installed by the site, and enable users to select or deselect individual cookies.

It must include an up-to-date link to the notices and consent forms of third parties with whom the controller has agreements to install cookies through its website.

Finally, it must mention that users can also express their cookie choices through their browser settings.

1. Who is required to provide the information notice and request consent to the use of cookies?

The website owner who installs profiling cookies.

For third-party cookies installed through the website, the obligations to provide information and obtain consent rest with those third parties. However, the website owner, as a technical intermediary between them and users, must include up-to-date links to the third parties' privacy notices and consent forms in the full privacy notice.

1. Must the use of cookies be notified to the Data Protection Authority?

Profiling cookies, which usually persist over time, are subject to notification requirements, whereas cookies serving other purposes and falling within the category of technical cookies do not have to be notified to the Data Protection Authority.

1. When do the measures prescribed by the Italian Data Protection Authority in its decision of 8 May 2014 enter into force?

The Data Protection Authority provided for a one-year transitional period from publication of the decision in the Official Gazette to allow those concerned to comply. This period ends on 2 June 2015.

Click the Chrome menu icon.

1. Select Settings.
2. At the bottom of the page, click Show advanced settings.
3. In the “Privacy” section, click Content settings.
4. Enable or disable cookies:
5. To enable cookies, select Allow local data to be set (recommended).
6. To disable cookies, select Block sites from setting data.
7. Click on Endto save.

1. To open Internet Explorer, click the Start button. Type Internet Explorer in the search box, then click Internet Explorer in the results list.
2. Click the Tools button and then select Internet Options.
3. Click the General tab, then under Browsing History click Delete.
4. Select the Cookies checkbox, if it is not already selected, and then click Delete. Select or clear the checkboxes for any other items you wish to delete. To retain cookies for saved favourites, select the Preserve Favourites website data checkbox.

Preferences > Advanced > Cookies. These settings configure cookie management in Opera. The default setting accepts all cookies.

All cookies are accepted

Third-party cookies sent from a domain other than the one being visited are rejected.

All cookies are rejected

Tap Block Cookies and select “Never”, “From third parties and advertisers” or “Always”. Cookies are information from websites stored on the device so that the sites can recognise the user on their next visit and personalise the web page based on the information obtained.

some pages may work only if cookies are accepted.

Click Advanced and enable or disable the corresponding option. JavaScript allows web developers to control page elements. For example, a page using JavaScript may display the current date and time or open a link in a new pop-up window.

• To clear your Safari history, tap Settings > Safari > Clear History.
• To delete all cookies from Safari, tap Settings > Safari > Clear Cookies and Data. To delete other information stored by Safari, tap Advanced > Website Data > Remove All Website Data.

1. Click the menu button and select Options.
2. Select the Privacy panel.
3. Under History settings, select Use custom settings.
4. To enable cookies, select ‘Accept cookies from sites’; to disable them, clear that option.
5. If you are experiencing problems with cookies, also make sure that the Accept third-party cookies option is not set to Never.
6. Choose how long cookies may remain stored:
   1. Keep them until they expire: cookies will be removed when they reach their expiry date, which is set by the website sending them.
   2. Keep until Firefox closes: cookies stored on your computer will be removed when Firefox is closed.
   3. Keep until: ask me every time. Displays a warning whenever a website attempts to set a cookie and asks the user whether they want that cookie saved.
7. Click OK to close the options window.