About: ePrivacy
Pegasus: MEPs lash out at EU Commission for inaction
EU lawmakers revisited on Wednesday (4 May) new revelations of spying on European officials by the Pegasus software, criticising the lack of action by the European Commission, which prefers to leave the affair to the member states to handle.
French privacy watchdog fines Facebook and Google over cookie tracking rules
France's data protection watchdog known as the CNIL fined Facebook and Google €60 million and €150 million, respectively, on Thursday (6 December) in its latest crackdown against tech giants violating cookie tracking rules. EURACTIV France reports.
LEAKED: Trialogue negotiations close to agreement on ePrivacy derogation, sources say
EU lawmakers are close to reaching a compromise on a controversial regulation aimed at combating child sexual abuse online, according to a leaked compromise document obtained by EURACTIV. The negotiating process is ‘possible to likely’ to end on Wednesday (29 April), sources involved in the talks between national governments and MEPs told this website.
Google backs EU plans to fight child sexual abuse
Google has said it backs the need for a derogation from the ePrivacy directive and supports the notion of creating a European centre that would cover law enforcement, prevention and victim support at the EU level.
France to decide whether to allow widespread retention of connection data
France's Council of State, the country's highest legal entity, is meeting on Friday (16 April) to finally decide whether to allow the widespread retention of connection data despite the Court of Justice in Luxembourg having already ruled against the practice several times. EURACTIV France reports.
Portuguese Presidency rebuts Vestager’s concerns about ePrivacy proposal
The Portuguese Presidency of the EU has rebutted claims from the Commission's Executive Vice-President for Digital, Margarethe Vestager, that the country's prosed text for the ePrivacy regulation poses a risk to EU data protection standards as outlined in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
EU’s Vestager has ‘reservations’ about online privacy proposals
Margrethe Vestager, the executive vice-president of the European Commission, said on Friday (19 March) that she has "reservations" about a proposal from the Portuguese EU Presidency to unblock negotiations on the ePrivacy regulation.
Mixed emotions as Council finally adopts position on ePrivacy text
The EU Council finally managed to adopt a position on widespread new data protection rules on Wednesday (10 February), as part of the so-called ePrivacy regulation, although Germany and Austria abstained from voting and Berlin's data protection authority called for 'significant changes' to the text.
Dating apps and videoconferencing could be monitored in new EU data rules
Dating apps and videoconferencing tools could come under the scope of new EU efforts to monitor online communications in a bid to stamp out child sexual abuse material, internal documents obtained by EURACTIV reveal.
The fundamental rights concerns at the heart of new EU online content rules
The EU's proposed Online Terrorist Content Regulation and the Intertim Regulation on child abuse materials raise serious fundamental rights concerns, says Eliška Pírková.
German Presidency charts new COVID19 ‘metadata’ rules in leaked ePrivacy text
The German EU Council presidency is seeking to permit the processing of metadata in online communications for 'monitoring epidemics' or to help in 'natural or man-made disasters,' according to a leaked text on the ePrivacy regulation obtained by EURACTIV.
Altmaier argues against ‘international monopolies’ in the platform economy
A "well-regulated" platform economy should allow for small and medium-sized enterprises to compete fairly and should not lead to the formation of "international monopolies", German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said on Tuesday (7 July).
Europe’s COVID-19 App Attack
In a desperate attempt to gain some of a sense of control over the spread of the COVID-19, governments across Europe are looking out to the far-east for lessons on how to trace the spread of the virus.
EU’s Breton defends COVID-19 telecoms data acquisition plans
The European Commission's Internal Market chief Thierry Breton has defended plans to obtain mobile data from EU telecom firms during the coronavirus outbreak, saying the acquisition of certain datasets allows for a clearer reading of "the impact of the confinement measures taken by member states."
The ePrivacy Regulation saga three years on
EURACTIV takes a look at what has happened during the three years while the Commission’s proposal has been stuck in the legislative process. The Croatian Presidency is the latest member state with responsibility to resolve the ePrivacy Regulation conundrum. The...
Commission to present revamped ePrivacy proposal
The European Commission will present a revised ePrivacy proposal as part of the forthcoming Croatian Presidency of the EU, Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton announced on Tuesday (3 December), after previous talks failed to produce an agreement among member states.
EU countries fail to agree on privacy rules governing WhatsApp, Skype
EU efforts to create a level playing field between telecoms operators and Facebook’s WhatsApp and Microsoft unit Skype stalled on Friday after member countries failed to agree on the scope of proposed rules.
Power sector ‘concerned’ about new EU data privacy rules
A proposed ePrivacy regulation currently under discussion at EU level would hurt new business models in the clean energy sector, which are “almost all” based on the collection and treatment of data by home equipment and smart meters, warns an industry coalition.
ePrivacy: Over-regulation or opportunity?
As debate over the draft ePrivacy Regulation resumes, it transpires that economic research from the ad tech lobby has grossly misled the European Parliament and the Council, writes Dr Johnny Ryan.
EU Elections 2019: Data protection a priority for next parliament, forecast shows
The next European Parliament is likely to offer citizens better protection of their data, according to a study conducted by a leading European think tank. At the same time, concerns are growing about the adequacy of an EU-US deal on exchanging personal data across the Atlantic.
Industry groups amp up lobby campaign to topple ePrivacy bill
Dozens of industry associations have made a last-ditch effort to water down the draft ePrivacy legislation before national telecoms ministers gather to discuss the file next week in Luxembourg.
Commission demands EU leaders approve deadlocked ePrivacy bill
The European Commission is amping up pressure on EU leaders to approve a controversial privacy bill, deadlocked in legal talks for more than a year, after the data breach scandal involving Facebook and Cambridge Analytica.
After Facebook scandal, MEPs argue the GDPR isn’t enough
The EU needs more legal safeguards to prevent massive privacy breaches like the current scandal over Facebook and British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica, MEPs from different political parties argued on Wednesday (18 April).