University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist takes a look at a reader’s allegation that Prime Minister Harper’s Web site is incorrectly describing the way cookies are deposited on the browsers of visitors.
“Notwithstanding the assurances that no cookies track how visitors use the site, the site currently inserts at least five cookies on a user’s computer,” he writes. “Two cookies expire at the end of the visit, one lasts for the day, another remains on the computer for six months, and one stays on the computer for two years.”
Geist suspects the culprits are Google Analytics and Twitter. Frankly it doesn’t matter. These days people are increasingly worried about privacy, and a bad reputation can be crippling. Every organization needs to ensure that the first line of contact with its users — its Web site — has the latest, accurate description of how privacy-releated issues are handled.
When was the last time your organization checked if its cookie policy complies with the way the Web site really works?