[kuschku]

If the cookies are purely technical (say, login cookies), no.

If the cookies are used for tracking, like Google Analytics, then yes, it needs to ask the user for consent.

And that’s not a warning, but actual "yes/no", and in the no case, it may not set a tracking cookie, or have set a tracking cookie already.

Most sites (except for a few dozen German and Dutch ones) just redirect you somewhere else, though, if you refuse to be tracked.

[JohnTHaller]

Something that is best left to the browser to handle... by allowing the user to enable/disable 3rd party cookies. Which we already have. But no, the EU has stupid notifications on basically every single website as a result since everyone uses third party analytics. Why? If you want your analytics to be believed by anyone who wants to advertise with you, invest in you, partner with you, or buy you, they'd damn well better be third party analytics.

[rdancer]

The EU Commission and the regulatory agencies actually agree with you. The stupidity is 100% with the web devs and customers.

[carlesfe]

What do you mean with "The stupidity is 100% with the web devs and customers"?

The law requires user consent, in form of a click on a banner or scrolling the page, before setting any cookie.

[rdancer]

Which law? The 2002/58/EC doesn't.

[carlesfe]

Not that one.

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:320...

Complete law: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX...

Paragraph 66 talks about cookies.

A later exception was made by the EU for session cookies.

Guidelines for webmasters:

http://ec.europa.eu/ipg/basics/legal/cookies/index_en.htm#se...

It has a sample banner which is similar to those which most users display.

Spanish official directives (with further protection because of a local law called LSSI): https://www.agpd.es/portalwebAGPD/canaldocumentacion/publica..., page 17. Also comes with a sample banner

Did you really think that everyone else was wrong or didn't read the law and is programming these banners as some sort of fad?

[carlesfe]

That's true. The implementation differs on the country, for example in the UK it is enough to just show the annoying banner. Here in Spain you cannot set any tracking cookie (i.e. Analytics) without explicit consent. Of course, governmental websites totally break this law: http://cfenollosa.com/blog/the-ignorant-eu-cookie-law.html

However, OP is right, governments spy on our webcams and analyze our traffic, and that's ok, but we need a stupid banner that overrides browser preferences to avoid all but session cookies. Duh.

[nailer]

Yeah that's how I understood it. Sounds like the op who said EU directive isn't interested in regular use is wrong.