ePrivacy Regulation

The introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the rapidly advancing technical developments in electronic communications necessitate a revision of the previous ePrivacy Directive. Many consumers use internet telephony and messenger services every day to stay in touch with friends and family. Web surfing is also part of everyday life.

This electronic communication is very sensitive. Who communicates with whom and when? What is the communication  about? Which websites do users vist? What does the online behaviour look like and what is the user interested in? All this information allows a deep insight into complex emotional, political and social aspects of one’s personality.

The Federation of German Consumer Organisations (Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband – vzbv) therefore welcomes that the European Commission has proposed an ePrivacy Regulation in which it intends to regulate the processing of communication data and thus improve data protection and confidentiality in electronic communications.