ePrivacy

ePrivacy is a term used to describe the legal framework for the processing of personal data and privacy in the electronic communications sector. The protections that it creates stem from the rights to confidentiality of communications and protection of personal data enshrined under Articles 7 and 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

ePrivacy is closely related to the broader data protection regime for the processing of personal data and, as a result, can rarely be considered in isolation. As explained below, the rules on ePrivacy are intended to ‘particularise and complement’ the data protection regime.

Directive 2002/58/EC (the ePrivacy Directive) is the key overarching legislation and forms part of the EU (and UK) regulatory framework for electronic communications. In the UK, the ePrivacy Directive was implemented by the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (PECR 2003), SI 2003/2426. This subtopic focuses on ePrivacy in the UK, however, guidance on ePrivacy laws across the EU is available in our EU Law practice area, see: ePrivacy (EU Law)—overview.

The main objective of the legislation is to ensure that a provider of public