Implications of ePrivacy Regulation for Business | Data Protection & Privacy

1. THE EPRIVACY REGULATION AND ITS IMPACT ON FINANCIAL SERVICES Many firms still struggle with the implementation of the GDPR and the increasing number of fines is a testament to that. And those that seem to have dodged the bullet so far, the next one seems on its way. The ePrivacy Regulation promises to bring more challenges to the financial services industry that is still struggling with the first wave of new data protection regulations. What’s the ePrivacy Regulation The ePrivacy Regulation was intended to be part of GDPR but was shot down in early discussions. But the need to address the elements that were not covered in the GDPR and the necessity to update the existing framework that started to be rather out-dated remained. The ePrivacy Regulation is not only an extension of the GDPR. It also replaces existing regulations, i.e. ePrivacy Directive 2002, which has been amended several times and most recently in 2009 by Directive 2009/136 – the Cookie Directive, which introduced a number of changes, in particular with regard to the use of cookies as you may have guessed. It extends the scope to new communication services like Apple’s Facetime, WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger that have long overtaken traditional messaging services. The ePrivacy Regulation covers both content and metadata of electronic communications, which highlights the value in terms of privacy of information. Potential impact on financial services and compliance. The bottom line is that there are a number of variables to consider that will likely further delay the coming into force of the new regulation. We will also see additional changes that might water down the current obligations. What is sure though is that the ePrivacy Regulation will be introduced at some point in the not all too far future. For financial institutions, this means that they will need to try to find holistic solutions. The use of data in machine-to-machine services is a key element of the current conversations regarding the ePrivacy Regulation and all parties have made it clear that they are fully aware of the emerging role of IoT devices. Treating these risks lightly might soon result in a hefty bill – just ask Google! Source: https://www.shieldfc.com/