SiteSCAN: keep your cookies under control

Why do I need to check our website cookies?

Rules on the use of tracking cookies by website publishers are being continually tightened up and scrutinised by regulators.

You can find out more about the current regulations on our Q&A page, but the key thing to bear in mind is that data privacy and ‘cookie control’ is not just about GDPR compliance.

The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR or ‘E-privacy Directive’) – last updated in 2019 – state NO ‘non-essential cookies’ should be dropped onto web browsers without first getting explicit prior permission from the user.

This includes anything that’s not part of the ‘plumbing’ of a website – like cookies used for analytics, customisation, functionality or performance. Most website publishers – including big brands and news organisations – are not yet fully compliant with this regulation. Are you?

Websites without advertising are still at risk of non-compliance.

At CAN we run an advertising network for local government organisations, including around 50 local councils. Companies like ours have to be particularly vigilant when it comes to regulations governing the use of cookies as – in order to deliver ads tailored to individual interests – we have to collect a small amount of what’s considered ‘Personally Identifiable Information (PII)’ data from tracking cookies.

However, although current regulations are very concerned with consent around PII, when it comes to tracking cookies, the most recent guidance makes no distinction between advertising cookies and any other ‘non-essential’ cookies – like those used for analytics or social media, which most councils use.

In fact, there are cases – such as with Google’s ‘Doubleclick’ – when a cookie that could potentially be used for advertising is loaded as part of a suite of analytics tools, even though no ads are running on the website.

What will the report tell me?

Your SiteSCAN report will list all the tracking cookies served to visitors when they go onto your website, before they give their consent. These will be categorised so you can easily identify which ones are ‘non-essential’. It will also provide information on the vendors who originated these cookies.

If you’d like a SiteSCAN report on a council website, we can provide this free of charge. Just click on the button below and fill in your name, the name of the council(s) you want a report on, and your council email address. Your report(s) will then be emailed to you.