The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) published guidance on changes to the cookies rules earlier this month to clarify how websites should obtain user consent for cookies. A further ICO news release yesterday confirmed that the ICO would give website owners up to 12 months to comply with the new cookies law before enforcement begins. This is because currently there is no easy technical way to enable individual cookie consent.

While some might welcome a pop up which asked for consent every time a cookie was used on a website, others might find it significantly spoiled their experience. The Government recognises that the technical solutions are not yet there, and is working with industry to agree the easiest (and least intrusive) way to enable websites to obtain users' consent to individual cookies. There is a debate about what consent means, but the crucial point is that users should be able to give informed consent, in other words, websites need to be very clear about what cookies they are using and why, and ensure that users have a choice.

How will the BBC comply with the law change?

Today we're publishing an updated list of the main cookies in use across BBC Online and what each is used for. It also tells you how you can control cookies by setting your computer, mobile or other device to notify you when a cookie is issued, or to opt out of cookies altogether.

We're also reviewing the ICO Guidance and starting to develop a plan to achieve compliance for BBC Online. This is going to involve reviewing the different types of cookies in use and deciding on the best method of obtaining consent from users in each case, and making technical changes where appropriate.

We'll continue to provide you with clear signposting to the cookies we use on BBC Online, so that you can make informed decisions about them, whilst being able to enjoy the best possible user experience across our web offering.

How does the BBC use cookies?

The BBC is committed to protecting you and your family's personal information when you're using BBC Online, and to providing users with a clear understanding of how and why we use cookies.

Cookies allow us to tailor our websites to you. For example, if you've customised your homepage we'll use cookies to store information about your preferred layout. If you tell us you always want to receive the weather forecast for Birmingham, we use cookies to save your location preference.

We also use cookies for internal purposes to help us to provide you with a better user experience. Information supplied by cookies helps us to analyse the profile of our visitors and to improve how we present our content to you.

Certain areas of BBC Online also use a specific type of cookie, called Flash cookies, for particular functions - for example, to help an online game work effectively on your device. More information about Flash cookies can be found here.

Finally, if you're outside the UK, you'll see the international version of BBC Online, bbc.com, which features advertising. A certain amount of this advertising is tailored to the individual user. This "onsite behavioural targeting" uses cookies to discover general information about the pages you visit. The tracking system is anonymised: it doesn't know who you are; it simply uses the limited information available to it to serve ads to you which it believes are relevant. More information about the use of onsite behavioural targeting, and how you can opt out from it, can be found here.

Other useful links: http://www/allaboutcookies.org

Kate Leece is Head of Legal & Business Affairs, BBC Future Media & Technology