Digilex - Issues around ePrivacy

The European Council is continuing its discussions on the ePrivacy Regulation, lex specialis of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), including user consent. The villa numeris, during its traditional meeting #DigiLex, at the Palais du Luxembourg, Thursday, April 4, 2019, decrypts its issues with its actors. Report.

A TEXT THAT IS COMPLEX

The ePrivacy Regulation, completing the GDPR adapts personal data principles to the field of electronic communications, proposed in January 2017, is under discussion. The direct applicability regulation is therefore significantly delayed as regards its entry into force. EPrivacy is, in fact, “a complex and sensitive subject” explains David Lacombled, President of digital think tank La Villa Numeris.

The topics are numerous covering both the right of protection and that of use, recalls French Senator Jérome Bignon. “Evolution is fast” underlines Emmanuel Parody, Mind Media publisher, and General Secretary of the french Group of publishers of Online Services (GESTE). If, for him, “everyone has integrated that it was necessary that one regulates”, he explains that “nobody knows how it will work” through this debate which he also qualifies as “complex”.

Marie-Hélène Tonnellier, Associate Lawyer at Latournerie Wolfrom Avocats, returns to the “very technical” dimension of this text and its importance. This text will “take precedence over the GDPR”, the regulation entered into force in May 25, 2018. The debates on the ePrivacy Regulation are numerous on both tracking management and prior consent obligations. Thus, Marie-Hélène Tonnellier returns to one of the key issues of the regulation: “the problem is to know who will have the hand”.

If the setting is done at the web browser level, difficulties arise, say witnesses. The browser “could be tempted to impose its conditions” explains Benoît Oberlé, CEO of Sirdata, specialist in consented data semantic processing. Referring to the potential cookie disappearance, he notes the first paradox aims primarily the user: for him, “the first impact of cookie disappearance is six to ten times more advertising and increased risk of seeing illegal and uncontrolled trackers bloom.”

FEVERISHNESS RISK AND NEED TO BUILD A SERENE EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK

“Everyone hates them but it is what preserves our private life : without them and the alphanumeric identifiers they contain, our names, first names and other nominative data in clear would be used to track our behavior”

They offer, editor a vision of what works or not. Senator Jérôme Bignon comments on the importance of publisher remuneration. Advertising stakeholders, are as well included through third party collection related to advertising devices, or as to personalize user experience. “Brands demand to have all these working tools. The value chain has been built on it, “says Emmanuel Parody. Thus, self-regulation initiatives are set up by the representative bodies in order to propose an alternative to the settings at the level of browsers and to agree on a standard to better “inform and collect consent” notes Benoît Oberlé, like the IAB Europe Transparency and Consent Framework.

GESTE General Secretary General, federating the main French digital publishers, Emmanuel Parody, reminds: “we must never forget: what we are trying to save is free and direct access.”

THE IMPORTANCE OF TRUST

Keep the link, “get in touch” with the user is key, notes Emmanuel Parody. “It is important that the user understands, he can say yes or no and that we respect this choice,” says Benoît Oberlé, “regardless of the impact on turnover”. Marie-Hélène Tonnelier points out a “disempowerment system.”

For the lawyer, “the consumer is considered as a great naive. We overprotect him. We do not let him do anything instead of educating him,” another paradox. Senator Jérome Bignon, elected in the Somme, praising a voluntary dimension “if the consumer does not want, he loses his right to have content that interests him. If the content interests me, I agree – “stresses that” the freedom to consult remains a fantastic wealth.”

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