Although significant obstacles remain in the way of a final agreement
A Regulation to replace obsolete rules: The ePrivacy Regulation guarantees the confidentiality of electronic communications. It was initially proposed by the EC in 2017, and this current Portuguese presidency has been the ninth Council presidency to try to find consensus to replace the rules from 2003. So far it has made progress where others couldn’t.
Governments have struggled to reach this far: Member states have been deeply divided on key issues of the Regulation, including its alignment with the GDPR. The Portuguese proposal expands the legal basis on which companies can process communications metadata without a user’s consent, thereby bringing the Regulation closer to the GDPR. These measures were welcomed by the telecoms industry, with ETNO and the GSMA endorsing the new proposal.
It’s far from over yet: The Council can now negotiate with the EC and the EU Parliament. This could turn out lengthy and complex, due to the discrepancies between Parliament and Council’s positions. Divisions between member states also remain, with Germany and Austria reportedly abstaining to get the proposal through. The head of the German data protection authority called the proposal ‘a harsh blow to data protection’.
