The draft Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations of 2003 seek to implement the EU's Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications of last year before that Directive's deadline of 31st October 2003. They also revoke Telecommunications Regulations of 1999.
The Government's consultation document seeks comments by 19th June on the proposed regulations which will:
Require businesses to gain prior consent before sending unsolicited advertising e-mail. This consent must be explicitly given on an 'opt-in' basis by all, except where there is an existing customer relationship;
Require that the use of cookies or other tracking devices is clearly indicated and that people are given the opportunity to reject them;
Allow mobile operators and their partners to provide customers with value added services, such as traffic and weather updates, where consent has been given; and
Ensure stronger rights for individuals to decide if they wish to be listed in subscriber directories. Clear information about the directory must also be given, e.g. whether further contact details can be obtained from just a telephone number or a name and address.
The prior consent requirement for e-mail reflects the recently introduced CAP Code, which sets out the rules administered by the UK's Advertising Standards Authority.
Cookies are used by most commercial web sites. They are small text files sent from a web server to a web site user's computer and they are stored on the hard drive. They are necessary to remember visitor details during the visit to the site or for a subsequent visit. Under the new rules, which were introduced due to privacy fears over misuse of cookies, a site user must be:
provided with clear and comprehensive information about the purposes of the storage of, or access to, such information; and
given the opportunity to refuse the storage of or access to such information.
The rules do not require that this information is given before the cookie is sent to the user's computer, which means that the rules will not drastically affect the operation of web sites – a link to a page describing use of cookies should suffice. A draft of the European Directive would have required prior notice; fortunately, this requirement was removed before its passing.
Launching the consultation, E-commerce Minister Stephen Timms said:
"When used properly, direct marketing is a powerful business tool. But badly targeted messages, whether by e-mail, phone, fax or text are a global concern. Not only are they a great nuisance, they are eroding trust in legitimate and valuable business services."
He added, "These regulations aim to give control back to the customer. It is vital that people feel safe and confident in using these technologies. Spam must not be allowed to get in the way."
The draft Regulations and other related papers are available on the DTI's site.