Cookie Law Enforcement in Italy Begins

Today, 3^rd June 2015 marks the end of the grace period provided by the Garante for becoming compliant with the cookie law in Italy, following the publication of its guidelines (available in English as well as Italian). 

Unusually there are sanctions available for both failure to inform users and failure to notify the Garante about the use of certain types of cookies, particularly those involved in profiling, which will include all cookies related to targeted online advertising.

The Italian rules require ‘prior consent’ but appear to allow for a similar soft opt-in model as available in France, and of course supported by Optanon.  There are specific fines for setting cookies without obtaining consent, which can range between €10,000 and €120,000.  Fines for not providing adequate information to users about the use of cookies, range from €6,000 to €30,000.

This makes it particularly important in Italy to make sure that any changes to the use of cookies is adequately reflected in a cookie policy, which means using a tool like the Optanon Auditor to regularly scan your site for new cookies.