ePrivacy: La Quadrature against dangerous MEPs' propositions

Submitted on 31 août 2017 - 16:39

Paris, 1 September 2017 -- Radical amendments in favor of lowering the protection of our communications have been tabled on the draft ePRivacy Regulation, mainly by Members of European Parliament (MEPs) from the right wing. Today, La Quadrature du Net publishes its positions against such dangerous shifts.

Read our positions (PDF, 4 pages)

On January, the European Commission issued a draft Regulation intended to replace the 2002 ePriavcy Directive on the protection of electronic communications. La Quadrature du Net denounced the weaknesses of this draft:

  • it would allow companies to track our location through data emitted by our devices without our consent; and
  • it would not clearly require a freely given consent, expressed by all users, for monitoring our communications or online activites.

However, as today, these weaknesses would almost appear as minors issues in view of the way more numerous and absurd dangers the protection of our communications faces now.

  • Many MEPs simply wish that our consent can be systematically bypassed by economic interests, regarding on-line or off-line tracking and the analysis of our messages and activities. Were these amendements adopted, the text would simply become the biggest step backwards ever in the field of data protection at the EU level.


  • Furthermore, where companies would still want to rely on our consent, these MEPs whish to stronlgy weaken the way the consent can be obtained. Exluding the protection of our on-line activities from the scope of the General Data Protection Regulation adopted last year, they would allow our fundamental right to privacy to become a mere economic counterpart.



On 28 October 2017, the 'Civil Liberties' Committee (LIBE) of the European Parliament will vote its final report. This vote will be a major step of the debate before the draft being negotiated with the Council of the EU within trialogue1.

In the LIBE Committee, here are the most active MEPs in favor of weakening the protection of our privacy:

Before LIBE's vote, three other Committees will adopt an opinion intended to help LIBE draft its report. The 'Internal Market and Consumer Protection' (IMCO) Committee will vote on 28 September, the 'Industry' (ITRE) Committee on 2 October and the 'Legal Affairs' (JURI) Committee on a date yet to be set.

La Quadrature du Net publishes today an analysis intended to help MEPs of these four Committees not to be deceived by the alarming propositions some of them made.

Read our positions (PDF, 4 pages)
  • 1. Trialogues are non-transparent conciliation committees between the European Parliament, Council of the EU and the European Commission.
  • 2. European Conservatives and Reformists Group, gathering some of the extreme right wing MEPs
  • 3. European People's Party, this group gather the MEPs from right wing
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lqdn_positions_eprivacy_01_09_2017.pdf69.85 Ko