What are cookies?
Cookies are text strings that websites visited by users (so-called publishers or “first parties”) or different websites/web servers (so-called “third parties”) place and store on the user’s device, to be then transmitted back to the same sites on subsequent visits.
Cookies are used for different purposes: performing computer authentication, session monitoring, storing information on specific configurations related to users accessing the server, storing preferences, or facilitating the use of online content, such as tracking items in a shopping cart or information for filling in forms, etc. They can also be used to profile users, meaning to “observe” their behavior, for example to send targeted advertising, measure the effectiveness of advertising messages, and adopt related commercial strategies. In this case, they are referred to as profiling cookies.
The same result can also be achieved through other tools or tracking techniques, including fingerprinting.
Technical cookies are those used to enable navigation or provide a service requested by the user. They are not used for additional purposes and are usually installed directly by the website owner. Without these cookies, some operations could not be carried out or would be more complex and/or less secure, such as online banking activities (viewing account statements, transfers, bill payments, etc.), for which cookies that allow user identification during the session are essential.
Which cookies are present on this website?
Technical cookies: these are used solely to “carry out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network, or as strictly necessary for the provider of an information society service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user to provide that service” (Art. 122, paragraph 1, of the Privacy Code). The technical cookies used on this site are divided into:
Necessary cookies (navigation or session cookies): required for normal browsing and use of the website
Preference or functionality cookies: allow users to navigate based on selected criteria (for example, language, selected products) in order to improve the browsing experience
Statistics cookies: help us understand how visitors interact with the website by collecting and transmitting information in anonymous form.
Marketing cookies: these are third-party cookies generated and read by third parties in relation to third-party options on our website.
For more information about these cookies and how third parties use the collected information, please contact the relevant third party.
Is user consent required for installing cookies on their device?
It depends on the purpose for which cookies are used and therefore whether they are “technical” or “profiling” cookies. For the installation of technical and analytical cookies, user consent is not required, although providing information is always necessary (Art. 13 of EU Regulation 2016/679).
Profiling cookies or other tracking tools, on the other hand, may only be used if the user has given consent after being informed through simplified methods.
As established by the Italian Data Protection Authority (Garante) in the provision of May 8, 2014 and reaffirmed in the Guidelines on cookies and other tracking tools of June 11, 2021, the information notice should be structured in multiple layers and may also be delivered through multiple channels, adopting all appropriate measures to ensure accessibility, including for users with disabilities.
While respecting the accountability of the data controller and its freedom to choose measures and solutions that ensure compliance with legal obligations, the Garante suggests adopting a mechanism whereby, when a user accesses a website (on the homepage or any other page), a banner immediately appears containing a short notice, a request for consent to the use of cookies, and a link to a more detailed notice. On that page, users can find more detailed information about cookies and choose which specific cookies to authorize.
Consent
To keep track of the consent obtained, the website owner may use a specific technical cookie, which is not particularly intrusive and does not require further consent, or other methods that allow documentation of user choices to be kept up to date.
Users must always be able to modify their choices easily at any time. It is considered good practice to adopt a technical solution (for example, an icon or visual indicator) that shows at any time the status of previously given consents. Simply scrolling a page is not, in itself, a valid expression of consent. Scrolling may be part of a more complex process that generates a recordable, documentable, and unequivocal choice.
It is unlawful to deny access to a website to users who do not consent to the use of cookies and other tracking tools, except in cases where the website owner, in compliance with fairness principles, offers access to equivalent content or services without requiring consent.
How to disable cookies (opt-out mechanism)
Users can refuse consent to the use of cookies on their device by selecting the appropriate settings in their browser; browsing will still be available in all its functions.
Below are links explaining how to disable cookies for the most commonly used browsers:
Apple Safari: https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/it/cookies