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LawBytes brings news on the latest version of the ePrivacy Regulation that gets stricter and the legislative rush on blockchain regulations.
ePrivacy regulation latest version published by the EU Council
On 10 July 2018, the Council of the European Union published the latest version proposal of the draft ePrivacy Regulation.
The proposal introduces considerable changes compared to the previous version as
- Article 6 is amended to allow further processing of electronic communications metadata not based on the end-users’ consent, but with several conditions to be met;
- Article 10, which provided for the possibility to use browser setting for cookie consent, is deleted and
- Article 8 is better clarified, providing that access to the specific website content may still be made conditional on the consent to the storage of a cookie or similar identifier.
The revisions will be discussed in a WP TELE meeting on 17 July 2018.
After the #GDPR hype, the ePrivacy Regulation is the next big thing in the privacy scene as it covers the confidentiality of electronic communications, thus having a wider field of application including non-personal data such as M2M and IoT data.
The impact this new ePrivacy Regulation will have on existing business models and digital markets is impressive, and the legislative train should be carefully monitored in order to intercept its route since, as this new proposal shows, it can change rapidly.
Blockchain – worldwide regulation rush already beyond the starting line
The blockchain is exponentially gaining credit during this 2018 summer, obtaining official recognition in legal frameworks all over the world.
After the first local blockchain-based test vote in Zug, SIX, the owner and operator of the Swiss stock exchange announced its plans to launch a fully-regulated platform for digital trading assets using blockchain. Meanwhile, the South Korean government is reportedly going to produce the final draft of a new blockchain industry classificatory scheme by the end of July, recognizing crypto exchanges as regulated financial institutions. On the other side of the world, the Maltese Parliament recently approved three bills, including the Virtual Financial Asset Act, establishing a regulatory framework for blockchain technology.
This regulation rush clearly shows that States are competing worldwide to become the next hotspot for blockchain and cryptocurrency companies giving them the tools necessary to operate in a forward-looking, regulated economy.
As previously discussed here, this innovative technology will unleash its full disruptive potential in key business sectors in 2018, so better be ahead!
