News
EC could include OTT services such as WhatsApp in new e-privacy regulations.
The European Commission (EC) is tipped to be targeting a stricter regulation of over-the-top (OTT) messaging services from companies including Facebook and Microsoft as part of a broader overhaul of European Union (EU) privacy laws.
According to a report by the Financial Times, internal EC documents revealed that the commission is preparing to issue proposals for the regulation of services including Facebook’s WhatsApp and Microsoft’s Skype next month, as part of broader efforts to update existing electronic privacy rules and remove differences in regulation faced by telecoms groups and their online rivals.
The latest e-privacy laws will replace existing rules that were conceived in 2002, and are likely to remove restrictions on telecoms service providers relating to subscriber location data, Fortune reported in a related article.
European telecoms operators including Orange and Telefonica have long complained that OTT services from companies based outside the EU – in this case the U.S. – have benefitted from looser regulations than mainstream telecoms service providers.
However, the EC’s goal to include OTT companies in broader telecoms laws is more focused on the user data that such companies gather, the FT noted. In particular, the EC is aiming to ensure that security agencies can readily access OTT services’ user data, the newspaper stated, adding that the commission is also seeking to regulate the way in which OTT companies utilise that data.
The EC’s proposals will also include regulation of online services that allow users to dial fixed and mobile phone numbers, the FT added. However, the commission does not intend to cover online-to-online calling in its proposals, the newspaper said.
While the EC is making progress in its bid to overhaul its ageing e-privacy laws, it is still far from certain that the latest proposals will be passed into law.
The FT noted that EU member states will spend several months debating the proposals, and that lobby groups are also likely to weigh into the matter.
