On 10 July 2022, the long-awaited Romanian law transposing the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC) has finally entered into force.
Law No. 198/2022 amending and supplementing certain regulatory acts in the electronic communications sector and establishing certain measures to facilitate the development of electronic communications networks (Law No. 198/2022) is the one that transposes the EECC into Romanian legislation.
One of the novelties brought by Law No. 198/2022 is that it broadens the scope of application of the rules in electronic communications sector by extending the definition of the electronic communications services (ECS).
ECS now has an extended scope, so as to include certain new categories of services, such as, for example, number-independent interpersonal communications services. This category may cover certain activities carried out by email providers, internet calls and instant messaging through different platforms providers, as well as other over-the-top (OTT) services providers.
This has several practical implications, including the fact that the electronic communications-related requirements will be imposed on the new categories of ECS providers that now fall within the scope of the legislation.
