EU countries agree joint stance ahead of WhatsApp, Skype privacy talks

FILE PHOTO: European Union flags flutter outside the European Commission headquarters, where Brexit talks are taking place, in Brussels, Belgium, December 24, 2020. REUTERS/Yves Herman

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU countries on Wednesday agreed to take a joint position in forthcoming negotiations with EU lawmakers and the European Commission on planned privacy rules governing Facebook's WhatsApp and Microsoft's Skype, ending a three-year impasse.

The European Commission proposed its ePrivacy Regulation in 2017, which would subject WhatsApp and Skype to the same rules as telecoms providers and restrict the tracking of users in order to provide personalised ads.