[P2P-F] Fwd: [opennetcoalition] Data Retention: EU Court of Justice Denounces Mandatory Data Retention

Tue Apr 8 17:55:12 CEST 2014

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: La Quadrature du Net <contact at laquadrature.net>
Date: Tue, Apr 8, 2014 at 10:52 AM
Subject: [opennetcoalition] Data Retention: EU Court of Justice Denounces
Mandatory Data Retention
To: opennetcoalition at laquadrature.net

Themes: COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, DATA RETENTION, PRIVACY,
SURVEILLANCE

La Quadrature du Net - For immediate release

Permanent link:
https://www.laquadrature.net/en/data-retention-eu-court-of-justice-denounces-mandatory-data-retention

Data Retention: EU Court of Justice Denounces Mandatory Data Retention

*** Paris, 8 April 2014 -- In a judgement [1] issued this morning, the Court
of Justice of the European Union opposed itself to the bulk data retention
of our online communications by ruling the 2006 European Data Retention
Directive [2] invalid. In the midst of the ongoing debate on mass
surveillance, this legal decision represents an important step towards
regaining our fundamental right to respect for private life and to the
protection of personal data. ***

Since its adoption in 2006, the Data Retention Directive was heavily
criticised by civil society organisations, Members of the European
Parliament [3], European institutions [4] and the constitutional courts of
several member states [5]. One of the most controversial sections in the
Directive is the obligation on telcom operators and Internet access
providers to ensure that their subscribers' data "are retained for periods
of not less than six months and not more than two years from the date of
the communication" in order "to ensure that those data are available for
the purpose of the investigation, detection and prosecution of serious
crime".

These measures were so heavily criticised not least because effective
alternative measures of data preservation, that are targeted and thus much
more proportional, were already in place in dozens of countries. These
measures call on technical intermediaries to preserve specific data and
communicate technical data in their possession to authorities within the
framework of an investigation [6].

The decision came in response to cases brought by the High Court of Ireland
and the Austrian Verfassungsgerichtshof (constitutional court) requesting
the Court of the European Union to examine the validity of the Data
Retention Directive. In a press release [7], the Court stated today that in
its opinion, "the directive interferes in a particularly serious manner
with the fundamental rights to respect for private life and to the
protection of personal data".

This ruling has an erga omnes effect which means that the decision does not
just rule on the cases of Ireland and Austria, but extends to all European
countries thus obliging some member states to reform their national
legislation in order to ensure that it complies with today's ruling. In
France, this decision will directly affect the measures of data retention
imposed on telecom operators [8] (specifically those measures contained in
the "loi de programmation militaire") and those on hosting services [9].

"This landmark decision is a victory for all defenders of privacy who have
been fighting mandatory data retention across Europe since 2006 against the
bulk retention of communications. Following a year of intense debate on
mass surveillance, the EU Court of Justice makes clear that laws adopted in
the name of the war on terror have led to unacceptable violations of
privacy. This ruling is an invitation for everyone to continue the fight
against surveillance by all appropriate means, be they technical, political
or legal. One legislative step at a time, our governments had drifted away
from the rule of law and now is the time to remind them that fundamental
rights are the cornerstones of our democracies and non-negotiable"
concluded Félix Tréguer, co-founder of La Quadrature du Net.

* References *

1. https://laquadrature.net/files/20140408_CJUE_Data%20retention_EN.pdf

2.
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/;jsessionid=2SfnTDLRf8JCyGn6Yjy5k8bBQp8t0M2cw1Rbb5F66L9hVzj9B1BB!977736974?uri=CELEX:32006L0024

3. See summary of the report of the Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE) of the
European Parliament:
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/summary.do?id=917268&t=e&l=en

4. http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_EDPS-11-6_en.htm

5. The constitutional courts of Romania (2009), Germany (2010), Bulgaria
(2010), Cyprus (2011) and the Czech Republic (2011) ruled the national
transpositions of the Directive unconstitutional finding that the invasion
of citizens' private life was unproportional. A similar challenge is
currently under way in Belgium: http://stopdataretention.be/

6. See EDRi's Shadow Evaluation Report on the Data Retention Directive
(2006/24/EC): http://www.edri.org/files/shadow_drd_report_110417.pdf

7.
http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2014-04/cp140054en.pdf

8.
http://www.zdnet.fr/actualites/la-retention-des-donnees-definitivement-fixee-a-un-an-en-france-39372251.htm[fr]

9.
http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000023646013&categorieLien=id[fr]

** About La Quadrature du Net **

La Quadrature du Net is an advocacy group that defends the rights and
freedoms of citizens on the Internet. More specifically, it advocates for
the adaptation of French and European legislations to respect the founding
principles of the Internet, most notably the free circulation of knowledge.

In addition to its advocacy work, the group also aims to foster a better
understanding of legislative processes among citizens. Through specific and
pertinent information and tools, La Quadrature du Net hopes to encourage
citizens' participation in the public debate on rights and freedoms in the
digital age.

La Quadrature du Net is supported by French, European and international
NGOs including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Open Society
Institute and Privacy International.

List of supporting organisations:
https://www.laquadrature.net/en/they-support-la-quadrature-du-net

** Press contact and press room **

contact at laquadrature.net, +33 (0) 972 294 426

https://www.laquadrature.net/en/press-room

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-- 
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