Five Critical Cookie Management Best Practices
Featured Author: Andrew Clearwater, Partner, Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice, Dentons
As regulatory scrutiny and litigation risks around cookies and tracking technologies intensify, organizations must adopt robust, operationally sound practices to ensure compliance and maintain user trust. Below are five actionable best practices, featuring practical guidance and timing recommendations, to help your organization achieve and sustain cookie compliance.
1. Implement and Test Consent Management Tools
Frequency: Initial setup, then test at least quarterly, or whenever new website features are launched.
Action: Deploy a consent management platform (CMP) that provides clear, granular choices for users (e.g., accept all, reject all, customize). Ensure banners and preference centers are user-friendly and use clear concise language to encourage meaningful engagement. Say what you do, and do what you say!
Why: Many modern regulations require valid, informed consent for non-essential cookies, and effective CMPs can help maximize opt-in rates while meeting legal requirements. Regular testing ensures banners function correctly and reflect the latest legal standards.
2. Conduct Regular Cookie Audits and Maintain an Up-to-Date Inventory
Frequency: At least quarterly, or whenever new website features are launched.
Action: Systematically identify and categorize all cookies and tracking technologies in use, including third-party scripts, pixels, and server-side trackers. It’s not just cookies! Maintain a up-to-date inventory with purposes, durations, and data flows.
Why: Regulators and courts expect organizations to know what tracking technologies are deployed and how they process personal data. A current inventory is foundational for transparency and risk management.
3. Document and Operationalize Governance Procedures
Frequency: Review and update annually, or after major regulatory changes.
Action: Maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs) for cookie management, including change request processes, privacy impact assessments, and employee training. Assign clear roles across legal, marketing, IT, and any third-party agencies involved in cookie deployment.
This is essential. Technology does not solve process problems, it amplifies them!
Why: Documented governance demonstrates accountability and readiness for regulatory inquiries. It also ensures consistency in compliance as teams and technologies evolve.
4. Manage Vendor and Third-Party Risks Proactively
Frequency: At onboarding, contract renewal, and during periodic reviews.
Action: Vet and contractually ensure vendors adhere to your data protection standards. Limit data access to only what is necessary, and configure software settings to enforce that limited access. Trust, but verify!
Why: Many enforcement actions stem from unmonitored third-party cookies or pixels. Proactive vendor management reduces exposure to regulatory and reputational risk.
5. Monitor For Regulatory and Technological Changes
Frequency: Ongoing, with formal reviews at least biannually.
Action: Stay informed of evolving laws (e.g., state privacy acts, global opt-out mechanisms), litigation trends, and browser changes affecting cookies. Test your implementation regularly to catch issues before regulators or consumers do, and be ready to change your approach.
Change is the constant!
Why: The cookie compliance landscape is dynamic, with frequent updates from regulators and technology providers. Continuous monitoring and adaptation are essential to avoid costly investigations and maintain user trust.
Don’t forget, you don’t need to go in alone. Like any modern data management issue, it takes a cross-functional team of experts to do the best work. If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
Want to learn more about how FLLR Consulting can help your organization get the most business value out of their cookies?
Download our Strategic Guide to Consent & Preferences today.