European newspaper publishers and e-commerce brands seem confused by the new measures of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This European directive…

Cookies: how a European directive transforms the way websites work

The screen seen by RFI Internet users is an obligation prescribed by the European GDPR directive.

Text by: Dominique Desaunay Follow

5 mins

European newspaper publishers and e-commerce brands seem confused by the new measures of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

This European directive obliges websites in Europe to display a clearly visible button allowing Internet users to refuse or accept cookies.

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While circulating on the web, small files called cookies, in reference to English sweets swaddled in paper on which were written hidden messages, permanently and automatically retrieve, on the computers, smartphones or tablets of Internet users, a good number of personal data.

Europe has decided to regulate this practice which the American internet giants use and abuse. They have indeed built their fortunes on the sale of online advertising space and for this, closely monitor our digital behavior. The

General Regulation on Data Protection

(RGPD) forces since April 1 EU websites to display a sign on their pages allowing users to reject or accept cookies, what they lack face a fine of up to 150,000 euros per violation of the regulations.

Most of them allow you to save data relating to the visit of a website, which has the effect of improving its ergonomics by facilitating your surfing. For example, a browser keeps in memory the information of a connection, the name used on an online shopping platform or the languages of preference of the user. This type of cookie allows Internet users not to have to constantly configure their program. But beyond this functional aspect, many others are used to learn about user behavior in order to help web players better target their advertisements.

The new European regulation "would

affect the online advertising market and disrupt the web distribution models of online press,

" say some mainstream media whose resources come mainly from online advertising.

Some immediately sought to circumvent this regulation by now conditioning access to their content by offering two choices to Internet users: either you accept cookies, or you pay for access to the pages ... without really knowing whether this formula will be accepted. by their Internet users.

"More complicated to innovate"

Another cause for concern, people who connect from countries outside the EU would rather tend to refuse cookies altogether or simply give up their surfing, notes Paul Grandclement-Chaffy, head of digital publishing systems. and refer RGPD for the France Médias Monde group, which brings together the branches and sites of France 24 and Radio France Internationale. "

The screen that our Internet users see when connecting to our digital environments is an obligation prescribed by the European GDPR directive. We display it in order to respect the personal data of the people who consult our sites. This panel may seem intrusive or seem annoying in the eyes of Internet users with this additional step that they must perform before accessing the content of our platforms.

And Paul Grandclement-Chaffy to specify: "

This also hinders the

uploading of

our content, because if a user chooses to click on the option" I refuse everything ", it becomes more complicated for us to innovate, to develop new services and content more suited to the expectations of our Internet users. The panel to indicate your choice with regard to cookies also seems difficult to understand for Internet users located outside the European Union who are absolutely not aware of the challenges of the GDPR

. "The GDPR referent for the France Médias Monde group continues"

With regard to the protection of personal data, our Internet users can be reassured

: It is precisely to protect their private information that this screen concerning cookies appears on all our sites.

While the world of online advertising is in turmoil with the end of the reign of third-party cookies in Europe, the web giant Google plans to do without these computer tracers. The American firm is experimenting with its own device that will only work for its Chrome browser. The system aggregates information from groups of Internet users sharing the same interests to sell advertising space to advertisers. These digital devices would be as intrusive as the use of cookies to disseminate targeted advertising, ultimately believe the European associations for the defense of online privacy and the authorities regulating Internet use. Ultimately, the dream of a web that would no longer vampirize the personal data of Internet users, with or without cookies,may not be tomorrow.

Cookies: how a European directive transforms the way websites work

Cookies: how a European directive transforms the way websites work

"More complicated to innovate"

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