MrAndrusAnsipVice-PresidentoftheEuropeanCommissionEuropeanCommission200RuedelaLoiB-1049BrusselsMrGüntherH.OettingerCommissionerfortheDigitalEconomy&SocietyEuropeanCommission200RuedelaLoiB-1049Brussels

22December2016

DearVice-PresidentAndrusAnsip,DearCommissionerGüntherOettinger,The undersigned associations represent publishers (EMMA, ENPA, EPC, NME), the digitaladvertisingindustry(IABEurope),directmarketers(FEDMA),advertisers(WFA)andadvertisingagencies(EACA).WewritetoexpressourseriousconcernsaboutthedirectionthereviewoftheePrivacyDirectiveseemstobetaking,basedonadraftproposalforanePrivacyRegulationthathas been leaked in early December.We realise that the text is still evolving but fear that aproposalonthelinesoftheleakeddraftwouldforeverchangetheinternetasweknowitfortheworsebyunderminingtheadvertisingbusinessmodeluponwhichmillionsofpeopleinEuropedependforaccesstocontentandservicesfreeatthepointofaccessonline,whetherasindividualcitizens or small businesses. Yet, ironically such an approach would fail to meet the statedobjectivesofthe legislationtoprovideEuropeanswiththeconfidenceandtrusttheydeservebecause the strict requirements on processing data would instead create endless andunnecessary demands on their time, attention and patience when using every-day essentialservices. European companies will suffer competitive disadvantage by comparison to othermarketsandultimatelydamagethepotentialofEurope’sdata-driveneconomy.

TheGeneralDataProtectionRegulation(GDPR)adequatelyaddressesthevastmajorityoftheissuestheePrivacyregimeseekstocover.Infact,anewlaw,alongthelinesoftheleakeddraftePrivacyRegulation,wouldunderminetheGDPRandmuchoftheintendedvalueattributedtothatas-yet-to-be-implemented instrument.Wesee insufficientevidence intheCommission’sdraft explanatorymemorandum that anePrivacyRegulationadoptedunderArticle114TFEUwouldmeettherequirementsofsubsidiarityandproportionalityparticularlyastheGDPRisintheprocessofbeingimplemented.WeappreciatethatconsumergroupshavecalledforclarityaroundthewayinwhichdataiscollectedandprocessedbutthismatterhasbeenmetfullyintheGDPR..Wearesurprisedatwhatcanonlybedescribedasamisrepresentationofindustry’sviewsinthedraft’sexplanatorymemorandum,whichneglectstomentionthatmanyindustryorganisations,includingours,repeatedlycalledforasimplerepealoftheePrivacyDirectiveasthefirst,bestoption,atboththeAprilworkshopandtheOctoberroundtablewithCommissionerOettinger.1Inaletterdated23November2016,someofusbroughttoyourattentionthecriticalrolethatrevenuefromdata-enabledadvertisingplaysinthefinancingofonlinemedia.2Weexplainedthatit provides an indispensable revenue streamwithoutwhich Europeanmediawould be hard-pressedtomanagethechallengingtransitiontotheonlineenvironmentwithobviousnegativeimplicationsformediapluralityoverthemedium-tolongterm,and,ultimately,foraninformedcitizenry—thebasisofanyfunctioningdemocracy.Unfortunately,requirementsintheleakeddraftwouldindeedseriouslyreducetheonlinemedia’sabilitytobuildmuchneededadvertisingrevenues, and hamper their relations with third parties which serve to provide insights toimprovedigitalbusinessmodels.Weareespeciallyconcernedwith theproposalsonbrowsersettings,thirdpartycookiesandprivacybydesign.WebelievetheePrivacyRegulationshouldbetechnologyneutralallowingcompaniestochoosethebestandmostappropriatetechnologyfortheirindividualneeds,allinaccordancewiththeGDPR.Lastly, we are disheartened that the promised “streamlining” of the so-called cookie rulesappearstoboildowntointroducingonlyonenew,extremelynarrow,exemptionforfirstpartyanalytics to theexistingprohibitive ruleson theuseof cookies. Furthermore, by limiting theavailablelegalgroundsforusingcookiestojustone–consent–theproposalwouldalsohavetheperniciouseffectoffavouringcertainbusinessmodelsoverothers.Particularlykeythirdparty

1SeeJointStatementEmpoweringtrustandinnovationbyrepealingthee-PrivacyDirective,signedbyinteraliaETNO,ECTAandGSMA,availableathttps://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/files/ccf27ee2-83d8-4ac7-aa7f-a376e16e51382SeeIABEuropePressRelease,EuropeanpublishersurgeEuropeanCommissiontorecogniseimportanceofdigitaladvertisinginreviewoftheePrivacyDirective,availableathttp://www.iabeurope.eu/all-news/press-releases/european-publishers-urge-european-commission-to-recognise-importance-of-digital-advertising-in-review-of-the-eprivacy-directive/

data-drivenbusinessserviceproviderswouldbedisadvantagedastheyarenotinapositiontoobtainconsent.WeurgetheCommissiontotakeacriticallookatitsdraftproposalforanePrivacyRegulation,taking intodueconsiderationtheconstructivewarningsandfeedback industryhaveprovidedduring thepast year. Inparticularweaskyou to refrain from introducingadditional rulesoncookies,consentandprivacybydesignuntiltheGDPRhasbeenappliedinpractice.Yourssincerely,EuropeanAssociationofCommunicationsAgencies(EACA)EuropeanMagazineMediaAssociation(EMMA)EuropeanNewspaperPublishers’Association(ENPA)EuropeanPublishersCouncil(EPC)FederationofEuropeanDirectandInteractiveMarketingAssociations(FEDMA)InteractiveAdvertisingBureauEurope(IABEurope)NewsMediaEurope(NME)WorldFederationofAdvertisers(WFA)Cc:MrJean-ClaudeJunckerPresidentoftheEuropeanCommissionEuropeanCommissionMrFransTimmermansFirst-VicePresidentoftheEuropeanCommissionEuropeanCommissionMsVěraJourováCommissionerforJustice,ConsumersandGenderEqualityEuropeanCommissionMsMargretheVestagerCommissionerforCompetitionEuropeanCommissionMsElżbietaBieńkowskaCommissionerfortheInternalMarket,Industry,EntrepreneurshipandSMEsEuropeanCommission