The European Commission has closed an infringement case against the UK in recognition that UK national legislation has now been changed to properly implement EU rules on ePrivacy and data protection on the confidentiality of communications such as email or Internet browsing. The Commission believes UK law and institutions are now well-equipped to enforce the privacy rights of UK users.
The Commission opened this infringement procedure in April 2009, because UK Internet users were concerned about how the UK authorities had handled their complaints over the use of targeted behavioural advertising by several Internet service providers. These complaints were handled by the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (the UK personal data protection authority) and the UK law enforcement agencies responsible for investigating cases of unlawful interception of communications
Following the Commission’s decision in September 2010 to refer the case to the Court of Justice, the UK amended its national legislation so as not to allow interception of users’ electronic communications without their explicit consent, and established an additional sanction and supervisory mechanism to deal with breaches of confidentiality in electronic communications.
In practical terms, the UK amended the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) by removing references to implied consent and established a new sanction against unlawful interception which previously fell outside the scope of RIPA.
The new sanction is administered by the Interception of Communications Commissioner (ICC) who will hear complaints about unlawful interception and has published guidance with practical information on how it will exercise these new functions. The Commission expects that the ICC will closely co-operate in its work with the Information Commissioner’s Office and the law enforcement authorities. Here to read more.
