Types of cookies
Cookies, classified according to their characteristics and functions, may remain on the user’s device for different periods of time: session cookies, for example, are automatically cancelled when the browser is closed; persistent cookies remain on the user’s device until an established end of validity date.
According to the provisions in force in Italy, express consent is not always required for use of cookies. In particular, such consent is not required for technical cookies, meaning those that serve only to transmit a communication on a network, or as strictly necessary in order to provide a service that has been explicitly requested by a user. Such cookies are indispensable for the execution of website functions or are necessary in order to execute activities requested by the user.
The Italian authority for protection of privacy (see the General Regulation “Identification of simplified disclosure statements and acquisition of consent for the use of cookies – 8 May 2014′) has classified the following as technical cookies, for which express consent is not required:
- Analytical cookies, if used directly by a web master to collect information in aggregate form about the number of users on a website and about how the same users visit the website itself.
- Navigation or session cookies that guarantee normal navigation and fruition of a website (allowing, for example, for making purchases or providing valid credentials for access to other reserved areas).
- Functional cookies that allow for navigation based on a series of selective criteria (such as the language or the products chosen for purchase) in order to improve the service rendered to the user.
Profiling cookies, on the other hand, meaning those configured to create a user profile for the purpose of sending advertising messages aligned with the preferences expressed by the user during web navigation, must be authorised in advance by the user.