WEC
In 2018, the EDPS developed the Website Evidence Collector (WEC) to use it in its own remote website audits and investigations.
The WEC collects evidence of personal data processing, such as cookies and similar tracking technologies providing website owners and data controllers with the means to self-assess their websites’ compliance and foster accountability. Consumers and NGOs can use the WEC to identify elements on their websites which are potentially non-compliant with the regulatory framework.
The collection parameters are configured before running the tool and then collection is carried out automatically. The collected evidence is structured in a human- and machine-readable format (e.g. PDF) and allows website controllers, data protection officers and end users to understand better which information is transferred and stored during a visit of a website.
The WEC source code is available on code.europa.eu under the European Union Public Licence (EUPL v1.2) and can be installed on Windows, Mac and Linux computers.
More information on the WEC here.
WEC Online
WEC Online builds on the Website Evidence Collector (WEC) by adding a graphical user interface and enabling centralised deployment for entire organisations. It provides website owners and data controllers with the same capabilities as the WEC to facilitate self-assessment of websites' compliance and foster accountability, while being more accessible for non-technical users.
The WEC Online enables automated generation of summary reports containing information collected by the WEC:
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The use of encryption (HTTPS/SSL) when connecting to the website
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The presence of web forms that submit non-encrypted data
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Links to common social media platforms
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Third-party requests made by the website
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Use of content security policies (CSP)
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Cookies present on the website
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Potential web beacons on the website
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HTML5 local storage usage
The reports can be viewed in the user interface of the WEC Online and downloaded locally.
The source code of WEC Online is available on code.europa.eu under the European Union Public Licence (EUPL v1.2).
More information on WEC Online here.
The EDPS encourages EU Institutions, Bodies, Offices, and Agencies (EUIs) to use the Website Evidence Collector (WEC) to obtain evidence on potential issues with their web services. To facilitate the use of the WEC, the EDPS has developed and made available to EUIs the WEC Online tool, accessible at https://webgate.ec.testa.eu/edps/website-evidence-collector/. The tool is restricted to EUI users and can be accessed via EU Login through the testa network.