Google Launches Cookie Choices Website

I just checked the CookieChoices.org website again, and it turns out that the website is really now live. As you might recall, I was the first one to break the news that Google bought the CookieChoices.org domain name, right after the EU ruling. Then, for some reason you could use the website for Google search. Then it went away. But now, it looks like they’ve quietly launched the website with real content.

The goal of Google’s CookieChoices.org is to “Helping publishers with cookie consent.” They go on to explain that “European laws require that digital publishers give visitors to their sites and apps information about their use of cookies and other forms of local storage. In many cases these laws also require that consent be obtained.” The website is produced by Google.

On the website, Google provides tools that include code that publishers (website owners) can use to inform their users about cookies and obtain proper consent on websites and apps.

There are two basic tools for websites:

– a tool to create a splash screen. You can use it for a landing page, for example.

– a tool to create a notification bar that can be overlayed on a landing page.

Google provides the code in a .zip file so you can download it. Here’s an example of the code that Google provides (image courtesy Google):

For sites that appeal to an EU audience, you would definitely want to make sure one of these shows up on your website. If you have a US based website, and primarily get US traffic, you might consider using this on your Privacy Policy page, for example. But I wouldn’t use these tools for all of your traffic, just EU traffic.