European Union e-PD and e-PR

The primary purpose of e-Privacy Directive and e-Privacy Regulation is to ensure the confidentiality of electronic communications;

e-PD and e-PR regulate all publicly available electronic communications services and telecommunication services irrespective of the technologies used;

e-PD and e-PR require all websites to obtain end user’s consent for the use of cookies and similar tracking technologies;

The e-PD requires all member EU states to enact their own data protection laws in order to implement the provisions of the ePD;

The e-PR will automatically apply to all member states of the EU;

The e-Privacy Regulation is meant to replace the ePD at some point in the future. A negotiating mandate has been reached by the Council of European Union in connection to the e-PR;

The e-Privacy Regulation allows direct marketing only with the consent of individuals. It requires entities to protect end-users against unsolicited marketing communications;

Once made into law, the e-Privacy Regulation will have potentially significant effects on organizations especially those that use metadata or tracking tools to monitor online behavior. Any violation of the regime will be subject to administrative fines up to 20 million euros or 4$ of the company’s total worldwide annual revenue, whichever is greater.