The EU ePrivacy Directive led the news this past week. First, the UK’s ICO issued a half-term report on cookies compliance. The guide gave a series of reference points for UK companies to use as they gear up for enforcement of the new ePrivacy Directive. This follows last week’s move by the Article 29 Working Party to criticize the IAB EU’s self-regulatory program. We strongly encourage everyone to read this post by Field Fisher Waterhouse’s Eduardo Ustaran that explains why clear notice will satisfy the law without a strict opt-in requirement.  Colin will be publishing our point of view on tomorrow, so look for the tweet when we post it. In US privacy news, Law.com produced a great breakdown regarding the current legal landscape surrounding OBA and privacy, and media critic Jeff Jarvis wrote a hilarious parody about the FTC fining Santa over COPPA violations. Also, criticisms of Facebook’s new Timeline feature began to rise as it became more widely adopted.   Time to get to grips with cookies – Field Fisher Waterhouse –Without a doubt, figuring out how to comply with the notice and consent requirements affecting the use of cookies in Europe is going to be at the top of the New Year’s resolutions of many data protection officers and privacy counsels…We are now well past the deadline to implement these requirements and it is time to start doing something other than burying our head in the sand.