EU Demands "opt-in" for Cookies. New Legislation on its Way

The EU is introducing legislation that forces internet users to actively accept cookies *. When is the new law due? The legislation is supposed to take effect on 25 May 2011 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12668552 Different types of cookies. Different requirements? Legislators seem to not make any distinction between first party and third party cookies ** which would be a natural distinction to make since third-party cookies are much more questionable when it comes to privacy issues. Do the legislators know what the consequences might be? We can expect that compliance with the legislation will not be enforced, at least to begin with, because it will take time for everyone to adapt and find solutions. It is unclear what legislators will accept as "consent". In its mildest interpretation, it might be a setting in your browser. In a stricter interpretation, it may mean that the visitor must approve all types of tracking. Here is an extreme example of how this might look on a website: http://www.davidnaylor.co.uk/eu-cookies-directive-interactive-guide-to-2... Here you can read the whole EU Directive: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:337:0011... * Cookie - a small file stored on your computer to remember things about you as a user. ** 1st party cookies will track you on the domain (website) on which the cookie itself resides. A 3rd party cookie will track your activity across different sites.