Cookie banners help your site to comply with the requirements of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) that gives California residents the right to have a say on how their personal data is collected and used.
What does a CCPA cookie banner cover, and how can they be made as user-friendly as possible?
CCPA Cookie Banner Requirements
CCPA applies to for-profit businesses that serve California residents, provided at least one of these criteria apply:
1. Have over $25 million gross annual revenue
2. Process personal information of over 50,000 Californians each year
3. Earn at least 50% of annual income from selling consumer personal information
CCPA requires businesses to meet certain requirements about how the personal data of individuals (and households and devices) is managed. An important part of this is the requirement for websites to notify users of what information is collected, what rights they have and what choices they can make about their personal data.
CCPA does not explicitly require websites to carry a cookie consent banner, but this is by far the easiest way to comply with CCPA legal requirements on consent management. Make sure you understand CCPA opt out requirements to avoid conflict with the data protection authority. Many organizations also offer user preference centers where choices can be confirmed.
If you need a cookie consent on your website, here’s what your policy might cover:
- A statement to inform users that the website uses cookies and what these are
- Details of what data collection is in place, for what purpose and how it is processed
- Disclosure of the cookies used by the site (including third party cookies)
- Notification that consumers can opt out of their personal data being sold and information about how to do so ( ‘do not sell my personal information’ link).
- Include a link to the site cookie policy
Take a look at our CCPA compliance checklist for more information or our ultimate CCPA guide.
CCPA Cookie Banner Examples
Need some inspiration of what a good banner looks like? These CCPA cookie banner examples will help you to get started.
1. Glossier
This cookie bar uses the same color palette as the rest of the site to blend in, and adds a friendly touch with emoticons and an opening ‘hi!’ The language used in the cookie notice is simple and straightforward, and ends with: ‘That is all. Thanks for reading!’ for a positive, upbeat round off.
On the other hand, this footer banner is so smoothly designed that it might take the user a while to pick up on the fact that they need to make a choice, which could cause delay and frustration.
2. McDonalds
The rest of the screen is dimmed when this cookie bar appears, to help users understand that they need to make a choice before using the site. There’s a concise and clear explanation of what cookies do, and a respectful note about how users can opt out. Then a simple menu makes it easy for users to make choices about their data through user consent.
The downside? There’s a chunk of text that could prove demanding for short attention spans – breaking it up might have helped some users to understand more easily.
3. Google
If anyone knows about data, it’s Google – this banner has the complex task of explaining how Google collects data through its search engine, but it does it well by using bullet points to break up the text. The branding is recognisably Google, with a cute cookie pic thrown in for good measure.
Explaining Google algorithms was never going to be entirely straightforward – the language in the third paragraph here takes a bit of thinking to comprehend – but they make a good job out of explaining a complicated subject.
Create Effective CCPA Cookie Banners
What makes for a good cookie banner? Here are some hints and tips:
- Use plain, simple language, short sentences and avoid technical jargon
- Make sure your cookie banner is accessible for people with disabilities
- The banner should adjust to smaller screens so it is legible on any device
- Make banners easy to dismiss
- Give users the ability to customize their cookie preferences
CookieHub can help you design cookie banners that enhance your website user experience, with customizable features such as automatic seamless integration, language detection and fully responsive design. Why not contact us today to discuss your needs?