KOSEN 한인과학기술자네트워크

As of January 2001, most of the Web sites we reviewed were following OMB's guidance on the use of cookies. Of the 65 sites we reviewed, 57 did not use persistent cookies on their Web sites. However, of the eight sites that were using persistent cookies, four did not disclose such use in their privacy policies, as required by OMB. The remaining four sites using persistent cookies did provide disclosure but did not meet OMB's other conditions for using cookies. In addition, four other sites - that did not use cookies - did not post privacy policies on their home pages. When we brought these issues to the attention of each of the agencies, all of them took corrective action or stated that they are planning to take such action. Although OMB's guidance has proved useful in ensuring that federal Web sites address privacy issues, the guidance remains fragmented, with multiple documents addressing various aspects of Web site privacy and cookie issues. In addition, the guidance does not provide clear direction on the disclosure of session cookies. Finally, OMB officials' stated position to exempt session cookies from disclosure in Web site privacy policies may confuse visitors to federal Web sites. We make recommendations to the Director to modify this guidance to ensure that it provides federal agencies with comprehensive and clear direction on the use of automatic collections - including cookies - of information on their Web sites.