| NOTAS: | "For most people, electronic communications (eCommunications) such as email, internet and telephony, occupy a central role in their day-to-day professional and personal activities. Indeed today, eCommunications are essential for organisations to operate efficiently and the EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies (EU institutions) are no exception. These guidelines are intended to provide practical advice and instruction to the EU institutions on the processing of personal information in the use of eCommunications tools, to ensure that they comply with their data protection obligations as set out in the Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 applicable to the EU institutions (Regulation). In principle, organisations using eCommunications process the personal data of their employees, for instance, in the management of eCommunication services, billing and verifying authorised use. In most cases, a limited private use of work equipment is permitted, so interference by an employer on the use of eCommunications by employees is likely to touch upon aspects directly relating to their private lives. Therefore, eCommunications is a complex subject and requires guidance. The domain is also one of the most dynamic fields of technology and is subject to rapid change. As a consequence, these guidelines take a technology-neutral approach and do not prescribe specific technical measures. Instead, they put a clear emphasis on the general principles of data protection that will help EU institutions comply with the data protection Regulation. While these guidelines are in principle aimed at the EU institutions, anyone or any organisation interested in data protection and eCommunications might find them useful: the Regulation is similar in many respects to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) applicable to organisations in the EU/EEA. These guidelines update an earlier text on the same topic issued in December 2015." |
