On January 10, 2017, the European Commission published a Proposal for a Regulation (Proposal) relating to privacy rules for the electronic communications sector. The Proposal will impose new, more rigorous privacy regulatory obligations on nearly all companies doing business in the EU over the Internet. It will address a host of important issues including the processing of communications content and metadata, and the use of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth tracking for Internet-based services and technology providers.  Once enacted, the Proposal will replace the e-Privacy Directive and will complement the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

As part of the legislative process, the European Parliament Committee (one of two legislative bodies charged with reviewing the Proposal) issued a Draft Report  in June 2017 and is reviewing more than 800 proposed amendments to the Proposal. In addition, the Article 29 Working Party (WP29)—the body of EU data protection authorities—published a non-binding opinion (the Opinion) on the Proposal in April 2017, urging a number of revisions that would impose even more obligations on covered companies.

This article provides a status update about the Proposal, including the main requirements currently under discussion at the European Parliament and an overview of the next steps. Read our previous WSGR Alert for more information about the Proposal and the Draft Report.
Continue Reading Status Update on the EU e-Privacy Regulation Proposal Discussions