The confidentiality of communications is guaranteed by Article 5 Directive 97/66/EC; in accordance with that Directive , Member States must prohibit any kind of interception or surveillance of such communications by others than the senders and receivers , except when legally authorised .. This sentence is hard to understand. A simpler version with equivalent meaning is the following:
The secrecy of communications is guaranteed by Article 5 of Directive 97/66 / EC . In accordance with this Directive , Member States must prohibit any kind of unlawful interception or the surveillance of such communications by others than senders and receivers , except where such activities are legally permitted .