You're listening to the European Parliamentary Research Service podcast on the reform of the EU's e-privacy rules.

People today can do almost anything online. We shop, we pay our taxes, and we keep in touch with friends on the other side of the world thanks to digital

services like WhatsApp or Skype.

But Europeans are concerned about their privacy.

And they're probably right as existing rules to protect privacy online were adopted in 2002

where the internet was still in its infancy.

But the Commission has made a proposal to modernise these rules and make them fit for today's digital world.

As the main objective of the European Commission's digital agenda,

the development of a digital single market requires the strengthening of security and online users' trust.

To achieve this, Europe needs to have in place strong data protection and privacy rules

to boost its digital economy and ensure the protection of fundamental rights, such as the

protection of personal data and the right to privacy. At present, protection of privacy in electronic

communications is provided by the 2002 E-Privacy Directive, which contains specific rules on confidentiality of e-communications,

security of networks and services, data breach notifications, prior consent to spam and to cookies,

and limited storage of traffic and location data.

The directive was updated in 2009, but it remained limited to traditional telecom operators.

It did not succeed in harmonising national roles in e-communications

and failed to solve problems related to management of cookies by users

who are now overloaded with consent requests.

Since this last revision, electronic communication services have taken a giant leap forward.

Today, consumers and businesses rely more and more on internet-based services to communicate,

such as instant messaging, voice-over IP and web-based email.

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