ECJ Judgment in Joined Cases C-203/15 Tele2 Sverige AB v Post-och telestyrelsen and C-698/15 Secretary of State for the Home Department v Tom Watson and Others

Author (Corporate)
Series Title
Series Details No.145, 2016 (21.12.16)
Publication Date 21/12/2016
Content Type

In a judgement made by the European Court of Justice on the 21 December 2016 the Court ruled that the EU Member States may not impose a general obligation to retain data on providers of electronic communications services.

EU law precludes a general and indiscriminate retention of traffic data and location data, but it is open to Members States to make provision, as a preventive measure, for targeted retention of that data solely for the purpose of fighting serious crime, provided that such retention is, with respect to the categories of data to be retained, the means of communication affected, the persons concerned and the chosen duration of retention, limited to what is strictly necessary. Access of the national authorities to the retained data must be subject to conditions, including prior review by an independent authority and the data being retained within the EU.

The ruling came in response to a legal challenge initially brought by the current Brexit secretary, David Davis, when he was a backbench MP, and Tom Watson, Labour’s deputy leader, over the legality of GCHQ’s bulk interception of call records and online messages.

The UK government said it was 'disappointed' by the ruling. The case would now return to the UK Court of Appeal.

Source Link Link to Main Source http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2016-12/cp160145en.pdf
Related Links
ESO: Background information: Advocate General’s Opinion in Joined Cases C-203/15 Tele2 Sverige AB v Post-och telestyrelsen and C-698/15 Secretary of State for Home Department v Tom Watson and Others http://www.europeansources.info/record/advocate-generals-opinion-in-joined-cases-c-203-15-tele2-sverige-ab-v-post-och-telestyrelsen-and-c-698-15-secretary-of-state-for-home-department-v-tom-watson-and-others/
The Guardian, 21.12.16: EU's highest court delivers blow to UK snooper's charter https://www.theguardian.com/law/2016/dec/21/eus-highest-court-delivers-blow-to-uk-snoopers-charter
BBC News, 21.12.16: EU data retention ruling goes against UK government http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38390150
Politico, 21.12.16: Europe’s top court guts key parts of UK spy law http://www.politico.eu/article/ecjs-uk-ruling-will-impact-telecoms-internet-companies/
ESO: Background information: UK lawmakers approve 'most sweeping' surveillance powers http://www.europeansources.info/record/uk-lawmakers-approve-most-sweeping-surveillance-powers/
Blog: EU Law Analysis, 21.12.16: Data retention and national law: the ECJ ruling in Joined Cases C-203/15 and C-698/15 Tele2 and Watson (Grand Chamber) http://eulawanalysis.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/data-retention-and-national-law-ecj.html
EUObserver, 21.12.16: Blanket data retention is illegal under EU law, court says https://euobserver.com/justice/136379
Deutsche Welle, 21.12.16: European Court of Justice rules against mass data retention in EU http://dw.com/p/2UetW
Euro|Topics: Debates, December 2016: ECJ rules against mass data retention http://www.eurotopics.net/en/171697/ecj-rules-against-mass-data-retention
Liberty: Press Release, 21.12.16: Government IS breaking the law by collecting everyone's internet and call data and accessing it with no independent sign-off and no suspicion of serious crime https://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/news/press-releases-and-statements/government-breaking-law-collecting-everyones-internet-and-call
EurActiv, 22.12.16: EU top court rules against bulk retention of emails http://www.euractiv.com/section/digital/news/eu-top-court-rules-against-bulk-retention-of-emails/
Blog: EU Law Analysis, 14.09.17: The Privacy International case in the IPT: respecting the right to privacy? http://eulawanalysis.blogspot.com/2017/09/the-privacy-international-case-in-ipt.html
Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT): Privacy International v the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Others, 09.09.17 http://www.ipt-uk.com/judgments.asp?id=40

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