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ePrivacy Regulation

The battle for digital privacy continues

Because of the very sensitive nature of personal communications, location and internet usage data, the 2002 ePrivacy Directive guaranteed special data protection for telephone and internet communications, which goes far beyond the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). It aims to protect against eavesdropping and spying on our communications (connection data) and movements (location data), but also against the monitoring of our internet use (tracking).

A ePrivacy Regulation was intended to replace this 2002 Directive, for better or for worse. Mass intelligence surveillance, the Cambridge Analytica scandal, and potentially wrongful convictions based on false telecommunications data in Denmark demonstrate how urgently better protection of our telephone and internet use is needed. However EU governments were demanding a massive reduction in data protection through, among other things, mandatory and voluntary data retention, forced tracking and misuse of data.

According to the Commission work programme 2025, the Commission intends to withdraw the proposal within the next six months absent foreseeable agreement. The fact that the 2002 ePrivacy Directive will continue to apply defends a fairly strong, albeit inadequate, protection of our communications data and prevents the foreseeable reduction in data protection as a result of a reform.

Parliament pushed back against surveillance

The European Parliament wanted to improve the EU Commission’s reform proposal to effectively protect users from data collection, tracking and interception. Following a close vote, Parliament set out its position in 2017:

  • Telecommunications should be encrypted to protect them from interception by secret services.
  • Surveillance measures should be accounted for annually.
  • Access to websites should no longer be made dependent on the user agreeing to the extraction of his or her online activities for targeted advertising.
  • A legally binding do not track setting in smartphones or browsers should put an end to annoying cookie banners.
  • Offline tracking based on smartphone signals, for example in city centres, shopping malls or airports, should only be permitted with consent.

Governments wanted more surveillance

For years, there had been disagreements among the EU member states and finding a common negotiating position was extremely difficult. Lobbyists of the data and advertising industry were working vehemently against the demands of the Parliament. They fear massive financial losses if surveillance-based advertising is restricted. A decision was reached on 11 February 2021: EU governments were now demanding a massive reduction in data protection through, among other things, mandatory and voluntary data retention, forced tracking and misuse of data.

Reducing or eliminating the protection provided by the ePrivacy Directive, and general or indiscriminate collection of personal communication data, as demanded by the EU governments, is completely unacceptable! It would have been very difficult to prevent this in the negotiations.

What has happened so far

  • 10 January 2017: the EU Commission presents the draft ePrivacy Regulation – according to the original plan, the ePrivacy Regulation was supposed to enter into force at the same time as the GDPR on 25 May 2018.
  • 16 January 2017: The Council begins its deliberations. Click here for the proceedings.
  • 24 April 2017: The European Data Protection Supervisor publishes its opinion on the draft.
  • 20 October 2017: The European Parliament’s lead LIBE Committee presents its report on the Commission’s draft. On 23 October 2017, the LIBE Committee votes in favour of the report. On 27 October 2017, the EU Parliament agrees to start the trilogue negotiations on the basis of the report.
  • 10 February 2021: The Council agrees on a common position.

Timetable of the trilogue negotiations

  • 30 March 2022: Shadow Rapporteur Meeting
  • 31 March 2022: 3rd Interinstitutional Trilogue Negotiations
  • 16 November 2022: Shadow Rapporteur Meeting
  • 6 December 2022: Update on state of play in Council (video recording)
  • 1 March 2023: Shadow Rapporteur Meeting

Outcome

  • According to the Commission work programme 2025, the Commission intends to withdraw the file within the next six months absent foreseeable agreement

Tool for citizen participation in the ePrivacy reform

While representatives of the Parliament, Commission and Council were negotiating the future ePrivacy Regulation, we developed a tool to collect feedback on the text. You will find here a comparison of the proposals of the three institutions and the current ePrivacy directive.

Citizens and NGOs could support us in the negotiations by making remarks, comments and proposals on the texts.

Citizen participation in the ePrivacy reform

Documents on the ePrivacy Regulation