Brussels, 29/08/2001 (Agence Europe) - During its plenary session next week in Strasbourg, the Parliament will examine the report by Italian Radical Marco Cappato on the proposal of revision of the current Directive on the protection of personal data and the confidentiality of electronic communications. Generally in favour of the changes proposed by the Commission, the report adopted in the Committee on Citizens' Freedoms by 22 votes to 12 and 5 abstentions, contains a series of amendments aimed at strengthening the protection of privacy.
Presented by the Commission on 25 August 2000, the proposal of revision of the current Directive 97/66/EC does not aim to amend the content in depth but to update its provisions to take into account recent and foreseeable changes in electronic communications services and technologies. Although generally speaking the Cappato Report approves the proposal, it nonetheless considers that automatic call systems, faxes and other means of communication used for direct marketing purposes should only be authorised with the approval of those targeted. Consequently, those sending unwanted mail should have to provide an address so that potential clients can request not to be on the mailing list. It should be prohibited to disguise or mask the identity of the sender or to send messages to subscribers that have expressed a desire not to receive such mail.
Mr Cappato considers, moreover, that it is up to Member States to guarantee the confidential nature of communications and to ban the recording and the storage or any other means of interception or surveillance of communications by persons other than the users, unless the users concerned have given their consent. In his view, service providers should not, when they have access to terminal equipment, be authorised to seek or store personal information without prior consent, it being understood, however, that such service providers must be able to process the data in order to market their electronic communications services. For this, they should keep the information which is necessary during the time required, once the subscriber has given his or her approval. In every other case, data on traffic concerning subscribers or users should be effaced or made anonymous after each transmission, says the rapporteur.
In the specific case of printed electronic directories available to the public, Mr Cappato considers that data should be limited to what is strictly necessary for the identification of a particular subscriber, unless the latter has clearly given his or her consent for other information to be included. As far as access by Member States to information by electronic means is concerned, he admits that it may be necessary to restrict the application of the provisions set out in the directive in order to safeguard public security and to carry out investigations under criminal law. Such restrictions must nonetheless be proven necessary and be proportionate to the reasons behind them, states the rapporteur, who takes a stance against all large-scale general surveillance.