Amendment 500· ePrivacy Directive Article 5(3), additional subparagraph
~Alternative
Text of the amendment
As tabled
Wordingagainst the Commission’s
This paragraph shall not apply if the subscriber or user is a natural person, and the information stored or accessed constitutes or leads to the processing of personal data.3. Member States shall ensure that the storing of information, or the gaining of access to information already stored, in the terminal equipment of a subscriber or user is only allowed on condition that the subscriber or user concerned has given his or her consent, having been provided with clear and comprehensive information, in accordance with Directive 95/46/EC, inter alia, about the purposes of the processing. This shall not prevent any technical storage or access for sole the purposes set out in Article 88a(3) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679. of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network, or as strictly necessary in order for the provider of an information society service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user to provide the service.
This paragraph shall not apply if the information constitutes processing of personal data. .’
Struck CommissionHighlighted amendment
ePrivacy Directive Article 5 with this amendment
Amendment 500 applied to the Commission proposal, no other amendment
Unchanged: (1) and (2)
Member States shall ensure the confidentiality of communications and the related traffic data by means of a public communications network and publicly available electronic communications services, through national legislation. In particular, they shall prohibit listening, tapping, storage or other kinds of interception or surveillance of communications and the related traffic data by persons other than users, without the consent of the users concerned, except when legally authorised to do so in accordance with Article 15(1). This paragraph shall not prevent technical storage which is necessary for the conveyance of a communication without prejudice to the principle of confidentiality.
Paragraph 1 shall not affect any legally authorised recording of communications and the related traffic data when carried out in the course of lawful business practice for the purpose of providing evidence of a commercial transaction or of any other business communication.
Member States shall ensure that the storing of information, or the gaining of access to information already stored, in the terminal equipment of a subscriber or user is only allowed on condition that the subscriber or user concerned has given his or her consent, having been provided with clear and comprehensive information, in accordance with Directive 95/46/EC, inter alia, about the purposes of the processing. This shall not prevent any technical storage or access for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network, or as strictly necessary in order for the provider of an information society service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user to provide the service.
This paragraph shall not apply if the subscriber or user is a natural person, and the information stored or accessed constitutes or leads to the processing of personal data.Member States shall ensure that the storing of information, or the gaining of access to information already stored, in the terminal equipment of a subscriber or user is only allowed on condition that the subscriber or user concerned has given his or her consent, having been provided with clear and comprehensive information, in accordance with Directive 95/46/EC, inter alia, about the purposes of the processing. This shall not prevent any technical storage or access for sole the purposes set out in Article 88a(3) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679. of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network, or as strictly necessary in order for the provider of an information society service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user to provide the service.
This paragraph shall not apply if the information constitutes processing of personal data..’
~Amended Struck removed Highlighted added Full text on the ePrivacy Directive Article 5 page
Justification
Adaptation necessary to cater to changes under GDPR in new Articles 88a and b and to ensure consistency between both legal acts.
Target
Wording of the targeted provisionlaw in force, Commission proposal, latest Council text
Law in forceePrivacy Directive, Article 5(3)
Member States shall ensure that the storing of information, or the gaining of access to information already stored, in the terminal equipment of a subscriber or user is only allowed on condition that the subscriber or user concerned has given his or her consent, having been provided with clear and comprehensive information, in accordance with Directive 95/46/EC, inter alia, about the purposes of the processing. This shall not prevent any technical storage or access for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network, or as strictly necessary in order for the provider of an information society service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user to provide the service.
Commission proposalCOM(2025) 837
This paragraph shall not apply if the subscriber or user is a natural person, and the information stored or accessed constitutes or leads to the processing of personal data.
Council text of 22 October 2026ST 14756/26, Article 5(3)
3.Member States shall ensure that the storing of information, or gaining of access to information already stored, in the terminal equipment of a subscriber or user is only allowed when that person has given his or her consent, in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679.
Storing of information, or gaining of access to information already stored, in the terminal equipment of a subscriber or user without consent, and subsequent processing of personal data for the same purpose, shall be lawful to the extent it is solely related to and strictly necessary for the following purposes:
a)carrying out the transmission of an electronic communication over an electronic communications network;
b)providing a service, including its functionality, explicitly requested by the subscriber or user;
c)Creating anonymous aggregated information about the usage of an online service to measure the audience of that service, provided that it is carried out by the provider of the service requested by the subscriber or user, or by a third party on behalf of that provider, and the data collected for the purpose of aggregating the information are not processed for another purpose, shared with third parties or combined with data from third parties;
d)performing audience measurement in compliance with Article 24 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1083, provided that personal data are pseudonymised after collection and not processed for another purpose, that the processing of personal data does not involve tracking the activity of the subscriber or user outside of the service or the media content to be measured, and that any information shared with third parties other than those acting either on behalf of or jointly together with that provider does not contain personal data;
e)maintaining or restoring the technical security of the means strictly necessary for the provision of a service requested by the subscriber or user or the technical security of the terminal equipment used for the provision of such service;
f)measuring the display and performance of advertising that is based solely on the immediate content displayed on a subscriber or user’s online interface during an individual visit or on the basis of a single search query and that does not involve the processing of personal data, where such measurement is carried out by the provider of an online service, including jointly with others, or on behalf of that provider. Such measurement shall not involve profiling or processing of data relating to the subscriber or user’s past or future activity, including activity across sites or services. Data collected for such measurement shall be pseudonymised after collection and shall not be processed for another purpose.
The subscriber or user shall be able to refuse requests for consent in an easy and intelligible manner with a single-click button or equivalent means. If the subscriber or user gives consent, the provider shall not make a new request for consent for the same purpose for the period during which the controller can lawfully rely on the consent of the subscriber or user. If the subscriber or user refuses a request for consent, the provider shall not make a new request for consent for the same purpose for a period of at least four months.
Cite this amendment
Amendment 500 (David Cormand), European Parliament, Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, amendments 329–532 to the draft opinion on COM(2025) 837 (IMCO-AM-791061, PE791.061v01-00, 16 July 2026), pp. 105–106
Link, short form and official text
Amendment 500 (David Cormand), European Parliament, Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, amendments 329–532 to the draft opinion on COM(2025) 837 (IMCO-AM-791061, PE791.061v01-00, 16 July 2026), pp. 105–106
IMCO Amendment 500 (IMCO-AM-791061), p. 105