Law
A new law on cookies demands that you, as a website user, are
given the opportunity to understand how cookies are used on our websites and
consent to cookies being stored on your computer (laptop/mobile/tablet).
What are
cookies?
A cookie is a small text file, typically of letters and
numbers, downloaded to your computer when you access websites. Typically, they
contain the following information: a site name and unique user ID, the duration
of the cookie's abilities and effects, and a random number. As a rule, cookies
cannot be used to reveal your identity or personally identifying information.
When you visit a website that uses cookies for the first
time, a cookie is downloaded onto your computer. The next time you visit that
website, your computer checks to see if it has a cookie that is relevant and
sends the information contained in that cookie back to the website. The website
then notes that you have been there before, and in some cases, tailors what
pops up on screen to take account of that fact. They also might record how long
you spend on each page on a site, what links you click, even your preferences
for page layouts and color schemes.
Generally, the role of cookies is beneficial, making your
interaction with frequently-visited sites smoother with no extra effort on your
part. Without cookies, online shopping would be much harder. Without cookies,
some websites will become less interactive with the cookie option turned off.
Our use of
cookies
We use cookies to personalize content and ads, to provide
social media features and to analyses our traffic. We also share information
about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics
partners. No information about you as an individual is collected.
How to
control cookies
You can control and/or delete cookies as you wish – for
details, see aboutcookies.org. You can delete all cookies that are already on your
computer and you can set most browsers to prevent them from being placed. If
you do this, however, you may have to manually adjust some preferences every
time you visit a site and some services and functionalities may not work.