The European Commission published today a Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the respect for private life and the protection of personal data in electronic communications and repealing Directive 2002/58/EC (Regulation on Privacy and Electronic Communications).
Directive 2002/58/EC – the ePrivacy Directive - ensures the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms, in particular the respect for private life, confidentiality of communications and the protection of personal data in the electronic communications sector. It also guarantees the free movement of electronic communications data, equipment and services in the Union.
In line with the 'Better Regulation' requirements, the Commission carried out an ex post Regulatory Fitness and Performance Programme ("REFIT evaluation") of the ePrivacy Directive. It follows from the evaluation that the objectives and principles of the current framework remain sound. However, important technological and economic developments took place in the market since the last revision of the ePrivacy Directive in 2009. Consumers and businesses increasingly rely on new internet-based services enabling inter-personal communications such as Voice over IP, instant messaging and web-based e-mail services, instead of traditional communications services. These Over-the-Top communications services ("OTTs") are in general not subject to the current Union electronic communications framework, including the ePrivacy Directive. Accordingly, the Directive has not kept pace with technological developments, resulting in a void of protection of communications conveyed through new services.
How would the proposed Regulation meet the changing needs of our digital society? Read the full Proposal, as well as the complete results from the REFIT evaluation and an Impact Assessment published by the EC here