Last week, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources signed a group of statutory instruments into law which transpose the EU telecommunications reform package.

Among those regulations are the European Communities (Electronic Communications Networks and Services)(Privacy and Electronic Communications) Regulations 2011.

The Regulations are lengthy but the Data Protection Commissioner already has a guidance note online outlining the changes introduced, the most significant being:

• Compulsory notification of individuals and the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner in the case of data breaches
• More stringent requirements for user consent for the placing of “cookies” on electronic devices
• Stricter requirements for the sending of electronic marketing messages and the making of marketing phone calls

I previously wrote about mandatory reporting of data breaches in the context of general data protection law (rather than sector-specific rules).

Leo Moore (William Fry) points out that the new rules on cookies do not provide for a lead in time, as was the case in the UK. This will put pressure on operators subject to the rules to get their house in order quickly. He notes:

Website operators and other interested parties are keenly following how the Cookie Regulations will be interpreted and enforced in Ireland in light of the need to obtain website user consent each time a cookie is placed on a website user’s computer. Many such parties have concerns in relation to the practical implications of complying with such obligations.

For more, try following Ronan Lupton (ALTO), TJ McIntyre (UCD/DRI), Leo Moore (WF) & David Cullen (WF) on Twitter.

• Data Protection