Ten tech and telecom industry associations (The GSMA, ETNO, Cable Europe, CCIA, COCIR, Digital Europe, ECTA, EuroISPA, IAB Europe and the EPC) have called for privacy regulation to be simplified and streamlined to benefit consumers. The industry bodies highlighted the need for a simple, consistent and meaningful set of rules to protect personal data. This broad range of stakeholders sees the ePrivacy Directive (ePD) review process as a unique opportunity to achieve a simple, clear and horizontal approach to digital regulation. Sector-specific rules on privacy are no longer able to address the challenges of the digital age and regulators should evaluate whether the ePD is still necessary given that the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) lays down a comprehensive set of horizontal rules ensuring high levels of data protection
Aligning the ePD and the GDPR would be in line with the Digital Single Market Strategy and would help achieve further concrete steps in the context of the Commission’s REFIT programme.
On 6 July in Brussels, Boris Wojtan, the GSMA’s Director of Privacy, spoke at a Public Policy Exchange symposium under the title: Rethinking Data Protection and Privacy in Europe: Shaping the European Digital Future. He talked about the GSMA’s reports on ‘A new regulatory framework for the digital ecosystem’ and the ‘Internet Value Chain’, as well as the GSMA’s work on big data. The audience included ministers, data privacy experts and other authorities, the European Commission, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, academics, various trade bodies and several companies.
Read the GSMA response to the European Commission Public Consultation on the Evaluation and Review of the ePrivacy Directive here.