The amnesty is up. And we must comply. But we don't need a hard opt-in, or a soft opt-in. Instead any UK-based site only requires implied consent. What does that mean? After a year of fretting over whether or not we might be saddled with a hefty fine - or jail time - for not complying with the UK's interpretation of the EU's ridiculously vague and typically convoluted piece of Euro legalise, we have now arrived at day +2 of the post-cookie amnesty. The ICO is now saying that all UK-based websites require users to be aware of cookies being set - first and third party cookies. We are looking at a nice little "fade out" option (writing the function right this minute) highlighting that ExchangeWire indeed uses 1st and 3rd party cookies to make the site function. We are making you aware - deal with it.

Privacy advocates unhappy with the UK interpretation of the directive can vent their frustration in the comments field below. But be aware that your own PII data is probably being traded offline somewhere. Why don't you get as worked up about that particular invasion of privacy? It would seem the ICO has taken a grown-up approach to the EU directive. The problem is now at a pan-Euro level where different interpretations of the directive is making it virtually impossible for digital media companies to work on European level.

The Netherlands is a case in point: its parliament passed legislation several weeks ago requiring a hard opt-in for all cookies - 1st and 3rd party. That means you can't use Google analytics or third-party ad serve without explicit consent from a user. This is a potential disaster for the Dutch digital media space. Some of the companies based in the Netherlands are now drawing up contingency plans to leave the market. But fear not readers, ExchangeWire has a solution, which will be outlined in a post tomorrow.

In the meantime, ExchangeWire is making you all aware that we are setting cookies. It makes our site function. It helps us fund our business. Implied consent is therefore assumed. Thank you for understanding.