The two year old process of European Union  to create a level playing field between telecoms operators and Facebook’s  WhatsApp and Microsoft ‘s Skype stalled after member countries failed to agree on the scope of proposed privacy  rules. European Union was proposing for an e- Privacy regulation which would ensure that tech companies offering online messaging and email services would be subjected to the same tough rules as telecoms providers. For the past two years discussions were going on and EU couldn’t reach anywhere near agreement as the EU countries felt that many complex issues need to be attended before reaching a final agreement.

The  issues such as rules for cookies tracking users’ online activities, provisions on detecting and deleting child pornography and consent requirements however have stalled the process. The countries felt that the issue should be handled in a broader aspect and need further discussion before coming to a conclusion.

EU countries need to come up with a stance before they start talks to thrash out a common position with the Commission and European Parliament. EU ambassadors meeting in Brussels again reached an impasse, EU officials said.

Tech companies and some EU countries have criticized the ePrivacy proposal for being too restrictive, putting them at loggerheads with privacy activists who back.

“By first watering down the text and now halting the ePrivacy Regulation, the (European) Council takes a stance to protect the interests of online tracking advertisers and to ensure the dominance of big tech,” said Diego Naranjo at digital civil rights group European Digital Rights (EDRi).

Now the decision on the issue may take more time as the presidency of EU will be taken over by Croatia by the beginning of the coming year. The next move regarding the e-privacy issue is quite unclear as there is a change in the head of EU. If at all any development happens it could be only after the new leadership .

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