PURPOSE: to enhance protection of confidentiality of electronic communications.
PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.
ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.
BACKGROUND: the ePrivacy Directive (Directive 2002/58/EC) 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.
The Commission carried out an ex post 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. The Directive has not kept pace with technological developments, resulting in a void of protection of communications conveyed through new services.
A Eurobarometer survey on ePrivacy was conducted throughout the EU. The key findings are the following:
This proposal seeks to update the legal framework. It aims at reinforcing trust and security in the Digital Single Market a key objective of the Digital Single Market strategy. The draft Regulation also aligns the rules for electronic communications services with the new world-class standards of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679).
IMPACT ASSESSMENT: the preferred option offers a measured reinforcement of privacy/confidentiality by extending the scope of the legal instrument to include new functionally equivalent electronic communications services and which protects against unsolicited communications and simplifies and clarifies the regulatory environment.
CONTENT: this proposed new Regulation seeks to enhance protection of confidentiality of electronic communications by extending the scope of the legal instrument to include new functionally equivalent electronic communications services. Like the European Electronic Communications Code, this proposal also brings the Over-the-Top (OTT) providers in its scope to reflect the market reality.
Confidentiality of electronic communications: the proposal:
Rights of end-users to control the sending and reception of electronic communications: with a view to protecting their privacy, the new Regulation proposed:
Supervision and enforcement of this Regulation: this shall be entrusted to the supervisory authorities in charge of the GDPR. The powers of the European Data Protection Board are extended and the cooperation and consistency mechanism foreseen under the GDPR will apply in case of cross-border matters related to this Regulation.