Cookies en wetgeving: toestemming, in plaats van browser settings, icoontjes of opt-out constructies

Nederland
Het College bescherming persoonsgegevens heeft in haar brief van 14 maart 2011 haar visie gegeven met betrekking tot de interpretatie van de toestemming voor het plaatsen van cookies:

Verenigd Koninkrijk:
In het op 9 mei 2011 gepubliceerde document stelt het Engelse Cbp (ICO) in een Q&A op pagina 5:

I have heard that browser settings can be used to indicate consent – can I rely on that?
One of the suggestions in the new Directive is that the user’s browser settings are one possible means to get user consent. In other words, if the user visits your website, you can identify that their browser is set up to allow cookies of types A, B and C but not of type D and as a result you can be confident that in setting A, B and C you have his consent to do so. You would not set cookie D.

At present, most browser settings are not sophisticated enough to allow you to assume that the user has given their consent to allow your website to set a cookie. Also, not everyone who visits your site will do so using a browser. They may, for example, have used an application on their mobile device. So, for now we are advising organisations which use cookies or other means of storing information on a user’s equipment that they have to gain consent some other way.’