Introduction

The reach of the internet grows day by day. Currently there are over 2 billion users and the number continues to rise. The services offered on the internet follow the same exponential trend. Electronic commerce promises ever more varied and ingenious applications, putting the world at one's fingertip with a simple click. Nevertheless concerns have been raised about this virtual universe bringing about the end of our freedoms, especially with respect to privacy. The purpose of this chapter is to bring clarity to the debate and to offer some suggestions. The topic is a timely one in Europe. There are now two European Directives on privacy protection, in particular the general Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC of 24 October 1995 and the more specific Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive 2002/58/EC of 12 July 2002. The latter replaces the Directive 97/66/EC of 15 December 1997 on the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the telecommunications sector. A large number of documents generated within the European Community also are topical – including the European Parliament's 1999 report on Echelon; the European Commission's consultation paper on the surveillance by companies of employee internet use; the European Commission's communication on spam; and finally the Council Framework Draft Decision on Data Retention. In addition, one has to mention the important work done by the Article 29 Data Protection Working Party on various privacy issues in order to harmonise the different national approaches.