Revised ePrivacy Regulation Draft Circulated

In advance of meetings on May 16th and 17th, a revised draft of the ePrivacy Regulation has been circulated by the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU. The ePrivacy Regulation will update and replace the ePrivacy Directive, ultimately working in tandem with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to protect the data privacy of EU citizens.

The ePrivacy Regulation relates to the protection of a person’s right to a private life, including confidentiality. The GDPR implements rules on the right to protection of personal data. The GDPR is set to go into effect on May 25, 2018. Although the ePrivacy rules initially had a similar goal date, they have slipped from the initial timeline of going into effect with the GDPR and are now likely to be implemented near the end of 2019 at the earliest.

The ePrivacy Regulation is described as 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. In other words, it modernizes the Cookie Law to protect the privacy of individuals during electronic communications.

Among the requirements of the ePrivacy Regulation are:

– end-to-end encryption;
– measures to limit unwanted calls;
– user consent for direct marketing communications;
– the use of browser settings for privacy instead of cookie banners; and
– information about privacy settings for users on installation or first use of software; and
– compliance by modern, online communications in addition to the businesses covered by the existing ePrivacy Directive.

Similar to the GDPR, the law will be enforced by the data protection authorities as well as user lawsuits against any entity that violates the regulations. The revision updates the proposed date of implementation of the regulations from May 25, 2018 to one year from the date of entry into force.

Here is a link to the latest draft (PDF download).

We will be closely watching the debate in Europe to these revisions over the next few weeks given the importance of the law for the protection of personal electronic communication data. If there is substantial objection, then the implementation data for it may be pushed back into 2020. If the bill appears ready to be fast tracked to adoption, then there will be less time to get ready for it. Businesses will need to either anticipate the impact of these changes during their GDPR compliance preparations or alter them accordingly in the year before the ePrivacy Regulation goes into effect. Stay tuned here at the Clarip Privacy Blog for more information as we receive it.

Discover the Benefits of Privacy Management Software with Clarip

The Clarip data privacy software and team are available to help improve privacy and trust at your organization. Click here to contact us (return messages within 24 hours) or call 1-888-252-5653 to schedule a demo or speak to a member of the Clarip team.

If you are working towards GDPR compliance, try our modular GDPR software. Start with our automated GDPR data mapping software, enhance your privacy program with DPIA software, and meet ePrivacy requirements with the cookie consent manager.

If California Consumer Privacy Act compliance in 2020 is on your radar, ask us about our CCPA software. Improve efficiency of responses to data subject access requests with our DSAR Portal, or provide the right to opt out of the sale of personal information with our consent software.

Click here to contact us (return messages within 24 hours) or call 1-888-252-5653 to schedule a demo and speak to a member of the Clarip team.