EU Regulators publish opinion on the Interplay between GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive. The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) published an opinion detailing the relationship between the GDPR and the ePrivacy directive, which have a different, but overlapping, material scope.

The opinion reiterated the accepted principle - lex specialis derogate legi generali - special provisions prevail over general rules in situations which they specifically seek to regulate. An example of this is the overlap on the issue of cookies that collect personal data, between article 6 of the GDPR that provides various lawful grounds for this processing, and Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy directive that requires consent to be obtained from individuals before cookies are placed on their devices. The opinion states that Article 5(3) prevails as it is the more specific rule, and therefore consent must be obtained for the collection of personal data via cookies, instead of relying on one of the other lawful grounds for possessing data under the GDPR.

In addition, the opinion clarifies that Data Protection Authorities are authorized to act on ePrivacy matters only if the national laws of the relevant member state give them explicit enforcement powers. 

CLICK HERE to read the EDPB’s opinion.