BBC News reports in
New net rules set to make cookies crumble, that:
"From 25 May, European laws dictate that 'explicit consent' must be gathered from web users who are being tracked via text files called 'cookies'....
The changes are demanded by the European e-Privacy directive which comes into force in the UK in late May."
As written by Miya Knights at EWeekEurope.co.uk in
ICO Warns On New EU Cookie Rules:
"The new law, which will come into force on 25 May 2011, is an amendment to the EU’s Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive [The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003] designed to keep pace with the constant evolution of online fraud."