3 WordPress Plugins for Enforcing Cookie Consent

This is a WordPress plugin that allows you to implement a pop-up that prompts users to consent to cookies. This display is based on the European data protection law known as GDPR.

Since this is a law that applies within Europe, is there really no need for sites that are only targeted at Japan? It's a gray area. Recently, most English-speaking sites have cookie consent.

What are cookies? What information does a cookie contain?

You may have heard the word "cookie" many times, but most people probably wonder what cookies are.

Cookies are used to store information from your previous visit, allowing you to shop smoothly the next time you visit online. When you visit SNS, you may be logged in the next time. Cookies store information from your previous visit, allowing you to access the site smoothly without having to log in again every time.

Cookies store information such as your ID and password.

Cookies and the GDPR

Regarding the relationship between GDPR and cookies, GDPR considers cookie information to be personal information and makes it subject to protection. Even if cookies do not contain names or email addresses, they contain IDs, so they are defined as personal information.

When analyzing web data using analytics or various analytical tools, an ID is assigned to each individual, making it easy to analyze personal information such as the number of times a person visited the site.

Cookie information obtained on a website is subject to personal information protection when it is passed on to external systems called side-parties, such as analytics and advertising systems.

If you operate a website, you probably have analytics installed. I would say that most websites are covered.

*GA4 is designed not to rely on cookies in consideration of GDPR.

What happens if you don't comply with GDPR?

I think you have a general understanding of European laws based on personal information. The question that arises is, what happens if you don't follow them?

If a company violates the GDPR, it will be fined up to 41 TP3T of its annual turnover or 20 million euros (approximately 2.6 billion yen), whichever is higher.

Regarding GDPR compliance in Japan

As mentioned briefly at the beginning, even if the website is targeted at Japan, we don't know who in the world will be viewing the website. This is my personal opinion, but I don't think it's necessarily necessary for a website to require cookie consent unless it is primarily targeted at Europe.

If you have many users in Europe or if you are doing business in Europe, this is a required setting. You need to be careful not to unknowingly violate the law.

A system that asks "Do you consent to the handling of cookies?" when visiting a website may become commonplace in Japan in a few years.

Easily implement cookie consent with a WordPress plugin

If you have a WordPress site, you can implement this kind of cookie consent popup without coding by using a plugin. After doing some research, I found that there are several cookie consent plugins. I tried about three of them and will explain how to set them up, so please use them as a reference.

Cookie Notice & Compliance for GDPR / CCPA

Although free membership registration is required, Ookie Notice & Compliance for GDPR / CCPA is the most recommended because it is multilingual and can display a cookie consent popup with minimal settings!

• GDPR Policy Compliance
• CCPA Policy Compliance
• Compliance with other major data policies
• Multilingual
• free
• Membership registration required
• Color customizable
• Customizable text
• Various layouts can be customized, including side display type and full bottom display type.

We explained how to set up the cookie consent WordPress plugin Cookie Notice & Compliance for GDPR / CCPA!

Beautiful Cookie Consent Banner

Beautiful Cookie Consent Banner does not require membership registration and allows you to easily display a cookie popup with minimal configuration.

• GDPR Policy Compliance
• CCPA Policy Compliance
• free
• No membership registration required
• Color customizable
• Banner position can be customized
• There are three banner layouts

We explained how to set up the cookie consent WordPress plugin Beautiful Cookie Consent Banner!

Compliance

Complianz does not require membership registration, but you can fine-tune your cookie consent settings by going through the question-based settings. It takes more time to set up than other plugins, but it is recommended for those who want detailed settings.

• GDPR Policy Compliance
• CCPA Policy Compliance
• free
• No membership registration required
• Color customizable
• Banner position can be customized
• Banner text customizable
• Multilingual available

We explained how to set up the cookie consent WordPress plugin Complianz!

Finally, what happens if you don't consent to cookies?

You may have realized that some sites store personal information such as IDs and passwords in cookies. When you visit a website and a pop-up appears asking you to consent to cookies, some people may not want to consent.

What happens if you do not consent to cookies? Well, your personal information will not be saved, so if it is a membership site, you will have to enter your information every time you visit.

Cookie consent pop-up feature

Regarding the cookie consent popup, are you aware that just having a popup for aesthetic purposes is meaningless?

What is needed is a mechanism that does not retain cookie information if the user does not give consent. A WordPress plugin that can implement such a mechanism without coding would be very helpful.