What are cookies
Cookies are small text files with information that a website (specifically the web server) stores on a user’s computer / tablet / mobile phone so that whenever the user connects to the website, the latter retrieves that information and provide the user with services relevant to it. A typical example of such information is the user’s preferences on a website, as these are indicated by the user’s choices on that website (e.g. selection of specific “keys”, searches, advertisements etc.).

Which law applies
Cookies are governed by the “e-Privacy” Directive 2002/58/EC as amended by Directive 2009/136/EC (which has been incorporated into the Greek law by L 3471/2006), as it is explicitly provided in the Data Protection Regulation 2016/679, Recital 173.
According to the applicable law 3471 / 2006 (see article 4 par. 5 of this law, as amended by article 170 of Law 4070/2012) “The installation of “cookies” is allowed only with the consent of the user and after appropriate information thereof”.
For this reason, on the first visit of the user to the website 45^th ISCB Thessaloniki 2024, relevant popup windows are displayed, where the visitor user can declare his / her consent to the installation of the specially mentioned cookies, which are non-functional cookies aimed at improving the services presented on the website, such as:
• connection to social media,
• configuring audio / video players, by adapting the information to the user’s personal preferences,
• statistical analysis cookies on the number of visitors to the website and the number of pages viewed without instant identification of the user.

Are cookies installed without the prior consent of the user?
There are “cookies” that have been evaluated by the Working Party of articles 29 (see Wp29 Opinion 4/2012) as being technically – functionally necessary for connecting with the website or for the provision of internet service. For these, the law does not require prior consent.
We can distinguish the following categories:
• Cookies that are necessary to identify and / or maintain content entered by a subscriber or user during a session on a site throughout that connection. (For example, such cookies are required when completing an online form). In the same category, persistent “cookies” are installed for the same purpose and last for a few hours.
• Cookies that are necessary to authenticate the subscriber or user in services requiring authentication.
• Cookies installed for security purposes, such as cookies that detect repeated failed attempts to enter a user’s account on a particular website.
• Cookies with multimedia content, such as flash player cookies, during a session on a website. Such are, for example, cookies that are installed by viewing a video on the website that the user has visited.
• Cookies that are necessary for the implementation of the load balancing technique in a connection to a website.
• Cookies that “remember” the choices of the subscriber or user regarding the presentation of the website (e.g. “cookies” concerning the choice of language or the presentation of search results on a web page).
• Third party social plug-in content sharing cookies, for logged in members of a social network.

How to control cookies 
You can delete all cookies already on your computer, as well as set up most browsers in a way that prevents cookies from being installed. However, in this case, you may need to customize certain preferences yourself whenever you visit a site, and some services may also not work.
For more information on cookies, including how to control and / or delete cookies you can visit the following links:
https://ec.europa.eu/info/cookies_en
https://www.aboutcookies.org

How do I know if the cookies policy changes 
Any modification to this cookies policy will be displayed in time on the 45^th ISCB Thessaloniki 2024, website.