E-commerce: regulation of cookies costs 1.8 billion euros

By

Matthieu Guinebault

Published
Dec 17, 2014

European regulations regarding “cookies", freely interpreted according to each country, may curb the business of online stores. Designed to refer users to sites pertaining to their particular interests, they may serve as a significant cost and a disadvantage on the international market.

That’s according to a study by the US think-tank IFIT, supported by the E-commerce Europe federation. European legislation is reported to cost European sites 1.8 billion euros. The think-tank also emphasized the disparity in the application of the regulations: while some countries require a button requesting consent for the use of Internet cookies, others rely on a tacit agreement. 

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Everyone loses, according to E-commerce Europe. From small sites, which abandon the idea of personalized advertising, to Internet users, discouraged by reading information on cookies, which interrupts the buying process starting right from the homepage. The regulation of cookies is unlikely to change before 2016, the priority date given for the time being to the data protection law.