So, has anyone actually read the actual document. From his tone it doesn't appear this blogger has done so.. Here's the specific piece of text that covers this

So, has anyone actually read the actual document. From his tone it doesn't appear this blogger has done so.. Here's the specific piece of text that covers this new legislation: Third parties may wish to store information on the equip­ment of a user, or gain access to information already stored, for a number of purposes, ranging from the legiti­mate (such as certain types of cookies) to those involving unwarranted intrusion into the private sphere (such as spy­ware or  viruses). It is therefore of paramount importance that users be provided with clear and comprehensive infor­mation when engaging in any activity which could result in such storage or gaining of access. The methods of pro­viding information and offering the right to refuse should be as user-friendly as possible. Exceptions to the obligation to provide information and offer the right to refuse should be limited to those situations where the technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user. Where it is technically possible and effective, in accordance with the relevant provisions of Directive 95/46/EC, the user’s consent to processing may be expressed by using the appropriate settings of a browser or other application. The enforcement of these require­ments should be made more effective by way of enhanced powers granted to the relevant national authorities There is a very clear exception in there when the service is explicitly requested by the subscriber or user; so that covers login cookies, perference cookies etc. It also talks about making the process user friendly; so popup boxes don't seem to comply with that specific suggestion (ironically meaning that the attempt here to stick to "the letter of the law" actually goes dead against it :P). My feeling here is "meh", this doesn't strike me as an attempt to deal a crushing blow to the use of cookies. It looks to me like some specific piece of legislation that can be used to hit the more evil users of tracking cookies and those circumventing the "I don't want any cookies pls" settings of browsers (i.e. Flash Cookies). A piece that has been badly worded. On the other hand it does seem to cover the use of 3rd party analytics software that use tracking cookies. Which is unfortunate and potentially a problem in places like Germany where the lawyers will just love to make merry hell with such legislation :) (privacy laws are a favourite of their legal eagles for some reason!). Either way; they really need to iron out the ambiguity just to stop this firestorm of moaning. But at this stage, as an EU based web host/developer etc, my state of being is "not worried yet".