Common EU rules guarantee a high standard of privacy online. The EU is committed to ensuring citizens, and particularly children, are safe online.
ePrivacy
Each time we go online, we are entrusting our personal information to the websites we use and to the companies that provide us with the Internet. This information can range from our names and contact details, to our likes and dislikes, to our credit card information.
EU-wide rules can help protect our data when we browse the Internet. The EU is currently discussing new privacy rules that build trust and security online for the Digital Decade. The rules will give us greater control over our data and devices. And, they will update current ePrivacy rules to cover new forms of communication online.
New ePrivacy rules go hand in hand with other EU initiatives to ensure our privacy online. For example, the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ensures our personal data can only be gathered under strict conditions and for legitimate purposes.
Protecting and empowering children and young people online
Around one in three Internet users is a child. Children go online at younger and younger ages.
While there are excellent opportunities for learning and creativity online, there are also risks. Children may be exposed to cyberbullying, privacy breaches, fake news, harmful or illegal content, and grooming.
The EU's long-standing commitment to support, protect, empower, and respect children and young people online is reflected in the Better Internet for Kids Strategy (BIK+), which supports and complements the existing legal framework, in particular the Digital Services Act (DSA).
The BIK+ strategy aims to improve children's wellbeing online through a safe, age-appropriate digital environment that respects their best interests.
The strategy's actions are based on three pillars:
- Protect children and young people from harmful and illegal online content, conduct, contact, and risks as young consumers, by creating a safe digital environment.
- Empower children in the digital world and give them the necessary skills to make safe choices and express themselves online.
- Improve children's active participation, with more child-led activities to foster innovative and creative digital experiences.
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The Strategy for a better Internet for kids (BIK+) will ensure that children are protected, respected and empowered online.
The ePrivacy Directive and the General Data Protection Regulation help ensure digital privacy for EU citizens.