European Commission takes second legal step against eight Member States for not adopting the Directive on Privacy and Electronic communications

The Commission has announced the second step in infringement proceedings against Belgium, Germany, Greece, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Finland for failing to notify the Commission of measures transposing the Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications into their national laws.

The Directive, a part of the broader 2002/03 regulatory framework for electronic communications, sets rules for the protection of privacy and personal data in mobile and fixed communications, including the Internet. It includes provisions on issues such as third-party access to users’ PCs [e.g. by way of spyware or cookies], Spam [by email, fax, sms], Calling Line Identification and the use and retention of Location Data and Traffic Data.

The proceedings were first launched against the eight member states [and Sweden who has since notified the Commission of its new Spam legislation] in November 2003 under Article 226 of the EC Treaty, after only six member states have met the 31 October 2003 deadline for incorporating the directive into national law.

This second stage of the proceedings includes the sending of Reasoned Opinions to the member states, to which they have two months to respond. The next stage of the proceedings could mean the referral of the matter to the European Court of Justice.