June 23, 2011 08:00 pm EDT

Dutch parliament passes strict new law regulating cookies -- the non-edible variety

Well, it's certainly been an interesting month for those interested in all things technology-related in the Netherlands. Just last week, the Royal Dutch Mint showed off some new coins emblazoned with QR Codes promising untold "surprises," and this week the Dutch parliament made a bit of history by passing the first net neutrality legislation in the EU. Now it's taken aim at another target: internet cookies. Despite warnings that it could cause websites to flee en masse to less-restrictive countries in Europe, the parliament has also passed an amendment to the net neutrality law that drastically changes how cookies are handled on the web. Specifically, websites will have to prove that visitors explicitly agreed to allow cookies, which likely means an extra click or a pop-up window before anyone's able to actually visit a site. Of course, there's also the possibility that it could lead to a drop in a cookie use in the country, although that seems about as likely as a drop in actual cookie consumption.

[Thanks, Lucian; image: The Bygone Bureau]

Dutch parliament passes strict new law regulating cookies -- the non-edible variety originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Jun 2011 16:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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