Instead of giving consent to cookies on every website they visit, users would be able to set general preferences.

This will significantly impact the activities of websites such as Gmail and Hotmail, which under the proposed rules would need to ask for consent before scanning user emails for use in targeted advertising, something they are now able to do without consulting the customer.

Internet companies like WhatsApp and Skype are anxious they'll have to comply with new EU telecoms laws for the first time when the European Commission proposes a legislative overhaul this September.

Dautlich said that responsible marketers would welcome the stiffer penalties framework that the Commission has proposed for infringements of e-Privacy rules, which mirrors that which applies under the GDPR. That evens the playing field a little for telecommunications companies, which have long complained about the disparity between the regulations imposed on them when it comes to personal data and the regulations imposed on internet companies, which are a little more lax.

The European Parliament and member states must approve it before it becomes law. I want to ensure confidentiality of electronic communications and privacy.

The European Commission has proposed tougher, "high level" privacy rules for electronic communications, with a focus on restricting the advertising tracking powers of popular services such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Skype and Gmail.

The new proposals also call on consent to process electronic communications metadata, such as device location data to allow for the "purposes of granting and maintaining access and connection to the service", the commission said.

"It's up to our people to say yes or no", according to Andrus Ansip, Commission vice-president for the Digital Single Market.

The European Commission is also creating new laws to give users a little more control over cookies and cookie settings. This includes the cookies needed to remember shopping cart history, for filling in online forms over several pages, or the login information for the same session.

"For this reason, ETNO and GSMA call for legislators to ensure that the final Regulation takes into account new services and that all providers are subject to the same rules".

Under an EU-US Privacy Shield adopted a year ago, companies face penalties if they do not meet EU standards of protection.

The EC also said that it would hold discussions on reaching "adequacy decisions" - allowing "for the free flow of personal data to countries with "essentially equivalent" data protection rules to those in the European Union - with key trading partners in east and south-east Asia, starting with Japan and South Korea in 2017, and also with interested countries in Latin America and the rest of Europe".

Any steps that have the potential to limit the volume of this data, including the commission's proposal-and Apple's ad tracking opt-out option in iOS 10-is likely to impact the bottom line of all media sellers, as well as the lucrative cottage industry of data management firms that the digital advertising industry has spawned, Boyle said.