§ ePrivacy Directive · Article 6

ePrivacy Directive Article 6: Obligations, Deadlines & Penalties

Directive 2002/58/EC, Article 6 · All obligations · ePrivacy Directive

At a glance

Article 6 of the ePrivacy Directive imposes 8 obligations on provider of a public communications network or publicly available electronic communications service, provider of a publicly available electronic communications service, provider of the public communications networks and publicly available electronic communications services and 1 other entity type(s). At least one obligation carries an explicit compliance deadline.

§ Obligations

All obligations under Article 6

Obligation 1

Traffic data relating to subscribers and users must be erased or made anonymous when it is no longer needed for the purpose of the transmission of a communication. Directive 2002/58/EC, Article 6, Article 6

Obligated entity: provider of a public communications network or publicly available electronic communications service
Sector scope: public communications network or publicly available electronic communications service
Action required: erase
Deadline: —
Penalty: —

Obligation 2

Traffic data necessary for subscriber billing and interconnection payments may only be processed up to the end of the period during which the bill may lawfully be challenged or payment pursued. Directive 2002/58/EC, Article 6, Article 6

Obligated entity: provider of a public communications network or publicly available electronic communications service
Sector scope: public communications network or publicly available electronic communications service
Action required: process
Deadline: end of the period during which the bill may lawfully be challenged or payment pursued
Penalty: —

Obligation 3

For marketing or value added services, traffic data may only be processed to the extent and for the duration necessary if the subscriber or user has given consent. Directive 2002/58/EC, Article 6, Article 6

Obligated entity: provider of a publicly available electronic communications service
Sector scope: publicly available electronic communications service
Action required: process
Deadline: —
Penalty: —

Obligation 4

Users or subscribers must be given the possibility to withdraw their consent for the processing of traffic data at any time. Directive 2002/58/EC, Article 6, Article 6

Obligated entity: provider of a publicly available electronic communications service
Sector scope: publicly available electronic communications service
Action required: enable
Deadline: —
Penalty: —

Obligation 5

The service provider must inform the subscriber or user of the types of traffic data processed and the duration of such processing for billing and interconnection purposes. Directive 2002/58/EC, Article 6, Article 6

Obligated entity: service provider
Sector scope: public communications network or publicly available electronic communications service
Action required: inform
Deadline: —
Penalty: —

Obligation 6

Prior to obtaining consent, the service provider must inform the subscriber or user of the types of traffic data processed and the duration of such processing for marketing or value added services. Directive 2002/58/EC, Article 6, Article 6

Obligated entity: service provider
Sector scope: public communications network or publicly available electronic communications service
Action required: inform
Deadline: prior to obtaining consent
Penalty: —

Obligation 7

Processing of traffic data must be restricted to persons acting under the authority of providers handling specific activities such as billing, traffic management, fraud detection, or marketing. Directive 2002/58/EC, Article 6, Article 6

Obligated entity: provider of the public communications networks and publicly available electronic communications services
Sector scope: public communications network or publicly available electronic communications service
Action required: restrict
Deadline: —
Penalty: —

Obligation 8

Processing of traffic data must be restricted to what is necessary for the purposes of activities such as billing, traffic management, fraud detection, or marketing. Directive 2002/58/EC, Article 6, Article 6

Obligated entity: provider of the public communications networks and publicly available electronic communications services
Sector scope: public communications network or publicly available electronic communications service
Action required: restrict
Deadline: —
Penalty: —

§ Frequently asked

Questions about Article 6

Who must comply with Article 6 of the ePrivacy Directive? +

provider of a public communications network or publicly available electronic communications service, provider of a publicly available electronic communications service, provider of the public communications networks and publicly available electronic communications services, service provider.

What does Article 6 of the ePrivacy Directive require? +

erase process enable

What is the compliance deadline for ePrivacy Directive Article 6? +

end of the period during which the bill may lawfully be challenged or payment pursued; prior to obtaining consent

Need a cross-border briefing on ePrivacy Directive Article 6?

Search Fontvera ↵

All EU obligation pages · All ePrivacy Directive articles