In late October 2017 the European Parliament approved its version of the draft ePrivacy Regulation and is in a position to commence talks with the EU Council of Ministers on the Regulation. Here, Joe McNamee, Executive Director of international advocacy group European Digital Rights (EDRi), provides insight into the negotiations on the draft ePrivacy Regulation so far, and discusses some of the more controversial aspects of the Regulation, including for example around offline tracking. Overall, Joe argues in the context of the forthcoming Regulation that good privacy is good for business. / read more

The proposed new EU ePrivacy Regulation threatens the business models of many in the adtech sector.  Nick Johnson, Partner at Osborne Clarke LLP and Member of the Digital Business Lawyer Editorial Board, reviews the challenges it poses and looks at possible outcomes for businesses in this space. / read more

The European Commission is in a rush to reform the EU’s ePrivacy Directive, and its draft new legislation proposes a major shake-up of existing laws on cookies, direct marketing and confidentiality of communications. Nick Johnson and Georgina Graham of Osborne Clarke LLP review the implications of the draft for online advertising and direct marketing. / read more

The European Data Protection Supervisor (‘EDPS’) published an Opinion on the ePrivacy Directive (2002/58/EC) (‘the Directive’) on 22 July 2016 as part of the European Commission’s review of the Directive, with the EDPS advocating reforms to the Directive to provide confidentiality for users of all types of electronic communication, the strengthening of consent requirements for location data, allowing the full use of end-to-end encryption and requiring consent for all types of unsolicited electronic communication. / read more

The European Data Protection Supervisor (‘EDPS’) published an Opinion on the ePrivacy Directive (2002/58/EC) (‘the Directive’) on 22 July 2016 as part of the European Commission’s review of the Directive, with the EDPS advocating reforms to the Directive to provide confidentiality for users of all types of electronic communication, the strengthening of consent requirements for location data, allowing the full use of end-to-end encryption and requiring consent for all types of unsolicited electronic communication. / read more

The European Commission launched a public consultation on the review of the ePrivacy Directive, which governs the processing of personal data and privacy concerning the electronic communications sector, on 11 April. The Commission seeks comments on possible changes to the legal framework to ensure that it reacts to the new challenges presented by the changing digital market and to address inconsistent enforcement of the Directive and fragmentation across Europe. / read more