How specifically should the purposes of cookie use be presented to the user?
ANSWER
All purposes of the tracking mechanisms must be indicated to the user before the option to consent or refuse is presented. The French supervisory authority states that it is necessary to ensure that the purposes are formulated in a comprehensible manner, in appropriate and sufficiently clear language. Each purpose should be indicated by a short, highlighted heading, which will be followed by a brief description.
There is no need to indicate in the first information layer all technical operations or all mechanisms serving the same general purpose.
A detailed description of the purposes being pursued may be provided in a drop-down menu or via a link available in the first information layer. For example, the general purpose may be to display personalised advertisements, while a more detailed and technical description may indicate the following activities:
- limiting the number of times the same user sees advertising content, in order to prevent a decrease in advertising effectiveness after a certain number of repetitions;
- combating click fraud involving the artificial generation of clicks (by a human or a programme) on advertising content or affiliate links by publishers; such attempts may be motivated by settlements and payments resulting from a click on an advertisement; false clicks may also be generated by competitors in order to deplete the marketing budget; most advertising platforms contain mechanisms to detect such practices;
- for the purpose of billing the advertising display service;
- for the purpose of measuring user interest in order to better understand the audience.
