The European Commission has revised the ePrivacy Directive to toughen up the ways in which messaging services can control user data. Under the new rules, apps such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Gmail will no longer be allowed to record any kind of messaging information from the user, without their explicit consent. Andrus Ansip, vice-president for the digital single market, said that the changes will increase the level of trust that users will have in messaging companies, adding that the laws “provide a high level of protection for consumers, while allowing businesses to innovate”. As of 2018, the punishment for breaking the regulations will see the offending company receive a fine of up to 4% of its global turnover. However, the rule has been criticised by some telecom companies who say that the limitations are stricter than those that apply to internet-only messaging services.
