[mixmax]

The EU cookie law is so stupid and full of holes that it's absolutely ridiculous. Also nobody seems to know how to implement it properly so most people just don't. This includes a lot of government websites and EU organisations, even the EU's main website http://europa.eu/ doesn't comply with the law.

If ever there was a bad case of Politicians trying to reach a noble goal (in this case caring about a users privacy) but not having a clue about the technological means to reach the goal this is it.

Maybe EU needs a technology commissioner.

[chalst]

It's worth noting that this law wasn't produced in the usual way, and there was not much in the way of industry involvement in the legislation' s drafting process. About 15 months ago, I commented:

> I think it was not so much that the community was ignored, but that the law was passed under unusual circumstances: usually the lobbyists inform the legislators, who defer to industry on the specifics. Here the lobbyists mostly hated the legislation, but legislators were more responsive to privacy activists because of widespread public concern. So the law is a triumph of democracy over technocracy.

> And I think that's reflected in the legislation. The principles are OK, but the detail does not match up with practice. Hence the law is some way from being something workable.

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2587995

So I don't think this is really the politician's fault, so much as problems with parliamentary process. Your idea of a technology commissioner might be helpful, but the whole problem here is that the EU Commission did not guide the legislation, with the drafting being driven by parliament.

[panacea]

If they were called EM100(weN)vloops instead of "cookies", the politicians wouldn't have weighed in.

[pilsetnieks]

Technology is covered by the European Commissioner for research, innovation and science, currently Máire Geoghegan-Quinn of European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party.

However, the commissioners, as members of the European Commission do not take part in EU legislature, the EU Parliament does.

[yaix]

The cookie thing is a British law.