Press releases

The European Commission is presenting plans today to overhaul a law covering the confidentiality and security of electronic communications such as phone, e-mails or messaging services. According to these plans, services such as Skype or WhatsApp, also called over-the-top services (OTT), should respect similar rules to those for traditional phone and text messaging services. The Regulation will also set out when users’ consent is required for tracking online activities and for using customers’ communication and location data for purposes such as marketing. It should also protect consumers against unsolicited commercial communications.

In response to Member States’ decision to allow the European Commission to proceed with rules on roaming charges, Monique Goyens, Director General of The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC), commented:

In response to today’s publication by the European Commission of draft rules on roaming charges, Monique Goyens, Director General of The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC), commented

Today, the European Commission announced it would open infringement procedures against 7 Member States for their handling of the dieselgate scandal1. The countries targeted by the Commission have either failed to introduce penalties systems against car manufacturers for violating emissions limits or have not taken action against companies in light of evidence that they broke these emissions norms.