European officials propose stricter privacy rules for Internet communication services that may negatively impact advertising sales

Briefing

European officials propose stricter privacy rules for Internet communication services that may negatively impact advertising sales

February 8, 2017

Briefing

  • ePrivacy Directive Update – Government officials in Brussels propose an update to the ePrivacy Directive, which promotes confidentiality of communication and protection of personal data among telecom operators, to apply also to Internet-based communication services such as WhatsApp, Skype, and Gmail
  • Impact of Recommendations – Will prevent services to track data routinely of EU citizens without regulatory scrutiny and could impact advertising revenues negatively
  • Control over Cookies – Gives users more control to allow websites to place cookies on their browsers or reject third party cookies altogether
  • Consent to Use Metadata – Calls for user’s consent before electronic communications metadata such as device location data can be processed
  • Proposed Penalties – Violators can face fines of up to 4% of global annual turnover
  • Pending EU Approval – New rules require approval of European Union’s 28 member states and European Parliament to be implemented as law

Market Disruption

Sector

Government (excluding military), Information Technology

Organization

European Commission

Source

Original Publication Date

January 10, 2017

Leave a comment