Tag: European Data Retention Directive

Blanket data retention violates fundamental rights.

Tomorrow morning, the European Parliament legal services will release its long-awaited study on the Court of Justice of the EU’s ruling on the Data Retention Directive. Access obtained a copy of the document, which concludes that the EU’s powers to legislate on data retention matters are now limited.

On April 8, the Court of Justice of the European Union’s (CJEU) ruled on the Data Retention Directive and invalidated this controversial European law.

Last Thursday, Europe’s top privacy watchdogs stepped down at the conclusion of their terms. This week, the European Commission has yet to name a successor for its most important privacy posts. At a time when the European Union is actively considering landmark privacy legislation and simultaneously responding to the Snowden mass surveillance revelations, this is at best a shocking oversight and at worst a deliberate attempt to undermine Europeans’ privacy rights.

Access commends the opinion by the Advocate General, as it confirms the serious concerns repeatedly raised by civil society (see here, here and here, for example) and other institutions on the necessity and proportionality of mandatory blanket data retention in the EU. The mass retention of the activities of citizens, outside of the context of any criminal investigation, poses significant challenges to the very foundations of the rule of law and international human rights, including Article 7 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU.