It's been nearly four years since we reported that EU Member States agreed a final draft text for the proposed Regulation on Privacy and Electronic Regulations (ePrivacy Regulation), to replace the existing ePrivacy Directive (2002/58/EC) – noting that the next step was negotiations between the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament.

Now it seems (perhaps unsurprisingly) that those negotiations have broken down and the ePrivacy Regulation's fate is sealed, as the European Commission withdrew it in its work programme for 2025, noting that there is "no foreseeable agreement" and that the proposal is now "outdated in view of some recent legislation in both the technological and the legislative landscape" (which, according to Tech Crunch, appears to be a reference to the EU Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act). 

So, after eight years of wrangling, the rather antiquated ePrivacy Directive and its stringent 'storage and access' (cookie) consent and transparency requirements reign supreme in the world of ePrivacy - and, of course, don't forget the EU GDPR – and no doubt we can expect further action across the EU (and UK) as regulators seek to tame big tech and online advertising.