Recital 44

The storing of information, or the gaining of access to information already stored, in a terminal equipment and the subsequent processing of such data should be regulated under a single legal framework, namely Directive 2002/58/EC on privacy and electronic communications , where the subscriber of the electronic communications service or the user of the terminal equipment is a natural person. The amendments to this Directive should continue to offer the highest levels of protection for personal data, while simplifying the experiences of data subjects in exerting their rights and expressing their choices online. The amendments concern in particular storage of information in that equipment, accessing or otherwise collecting information from that equipment that entails the processing of personal data through cookies or similar technologies to gain information from the terminal equipment. Privacy enhancing technologies that reduce the processing of personal data and support the effective implementation of the obligations of data minimisation and data protection by design and by default under Regulation (EU) 2016/679 can play a crucial role in maintaining citizens’ trust in online digital ecosystems and it is important to incentivise the update of such technologies .