Data Retention Directive

{{Short description|European Union directive on storing telephony communications}}

{{Infobox EU legislation

|type= Directive

|title= Directive on the retention of data generated or processed in connection with the provision of publicly available electronic communications services or of public communications networks

|number= 2006/24/EC

|madeby=European Parliament and European Council

|madeunder=Article 95 TEC

|OJref=L 105, pp. 54–63

|OJrefurl=http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2006:105:0054:0063:EN:PDF

|made=15 March 2006

|commenced= 3 May 2006

|CommProp=

|ESCOpin=

|ParlOpin=

|Reports=

|replaces=

|amends=Directive 2002/58/EC

|status=terminated

}}

The Data Retention Directive (Directive 2006/24/EC), later declared invalid by the European Court of Justice, was at first passed on 15 March 2006 and regulated data retention, where data has been generated or processed in connection with the provision of publicly available electronic communications services or of public communications networks. It amended the Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications. According to the Data Retention Directive, EU member states had to store information on all citizens' telecommunications data (phone and internet connections) for a minimum of six months and at most twenty-four months, to be delivered on demand to police authorities.

Under the directive, the police and security agencies would have been able to request access to details such as IP addresses and time of use of every email, phone call and text message sent or received. There was no provision in the directive that permission to access the data must be confirmed by a court. On 8 April 2014, the Court of Justice of the European Union declared the Directive invalid in response to a case brought by Digital Rights Ireland against the Irish authorities and others because blanket data collection violated the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, in particular the right of privacy enshrined in Article 8(1).{{cite web|date=8 April 2014|title=ECJ Press Release in Digital Rights Ireland Data Retention case|url=http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2014-04/cp140054en.pdf|access-date=8 April 2014|publisher=Court of Justice of the European Union}}{{cite web|date=8 April 2014|title=Case number C-293/12|url=http://curia.europa.eu/juris/documents.jsf?num=C-293/12|access-date=8 April 2014|publisher=Court of Justice of the European Union}}{{cite web|date=8 April 2014|title=Judgment of the ECJ in Digital Rights Ireland data retention challenge|url=http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:62012CJ0293|access-date=8 April 2014|work=EUR-Lex|publisher=Official Journal of the European Union}}

History

In September 2005, during the United Kingdom's presidency of the European Council, a plenary session was held concerning the retention of telecommunications data, chaired by the UK's Home Secretary.{{cite web|url=http://www.eu2005.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1107293391098&a=Karticle&aid=1115136955496 |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100202100434/http://www.eu2005.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1107293391098&a=Karticle&aid=1115136955496 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2010-02-02 |title=Justice and Home Affairs Informal |access-date=17 February 2014 |date=9 September 2005 }} This led to an agreement reached by the Council at its meeting on the 1 and 2 December that was then adopted in March 2006, under the Austrian presidency.{{cite web |url=http://www.eu2006.at/en/News/Council_Conclusions/JAISchlussfolgerungen.pdf |title=PRESS RELEASE, 2709th Council Meeting, Justice and Home Affairs |access-date=17 February 2014 |date=21 February 2006 |page=2 |archive-date=24 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130424070331/http://www.eu2006.at/en/News/Council_Conclusions/JAISchlussfolgerungen.pdf |url-status=dead }}

Implementation

= Romania =

The EU directive has been transposed into Romanian law as well, initially as Law 298/2008.{{cite web |url=http://www.romanialibera.ro/actualitate/eveniment/ce-solicita-romaniei-sa-transpuna-integral-normele-ue-in-privinta-pastrarii-datelolor-242599.html |title=CE solicită României să transpună integral normele UE în privinţa păstrării datelolor | Romania Libera |publisher=Romanialibera.ro |date=16 August 2011 |access-date=26 January 2014 |archive-date=12 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170812060037/http://romanialibera.ro/actualitate/eveniment/ce-solicita-romaniei-sa-transpuna-integral-normele-ue-in-privinta-pastrarii-datelolor-242599.html |url-status=dead }} However, the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR) subsequently struck down the law in 2009 as violating constitutional rights.{{cite web |url=http://ejlt.org//article/view/29/75 |title=The Legality of the Data Retention Directive in Light of the Fundamental Rights to Privacy and Data Protection | European Journal of Law and Technology |publisher=Ejlt.org |access-date=26 January 2014 |archive-date=6 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190806083342/http://ejlt.org/article/view/29/75 |url-status=dead }} The court held that the transposing act violated the constitutional rights of privacy, of confidentiality in communications, and of free speech.Romanian Constitutional Court Decision no.1258 of 8 October 2009, Official Gazette no. 798 of 23 November 2009.In: http://ejlt.org//article/view/29/75 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190806083342/http://ejlt.org/article/view/29/75 |date=6 August 2019 }} The European Commission subsequently sued Romania in 2011 for non-implementation, threatening Romania with a fine of 30,000 euros per day.{{cite web|url=http://economie.hotnews.ro/stiri-telecom-12503594-traian-basescu-promulgat-asa-numita-39-lege-big-brother-39-care-prevede-stocarea-pentru-sase-luni-datelor-trafic-ale-tuturor-utilizatorilor-telefonie-internet.htm |title=Traian Basescu a promulgat asa numita 'lege Big Brother' care prevede stocarea pentru sase luni a datelor de trafic ale tuturor utilizatorilor de telefonie si internet – Telecom – HotNews.ro |publisher=Economie.hotnews.ro |access-date=26 January 2014}} The Romanian parliament passed a new law in 2012, which was signed by president Traian Băsescu in June.{{cite web|url=http://www.telecompaper.com/news/ec-drops-case-against-romania-as-data-retention-law-passes--926708 |title=EC drops case against Romania as data retention law passes |publisher=Telecompaper |access-date=26 January 2014}} The Law 82/2012 has been nicknamed "the Big Brother law" (using the untranslated English expression) by various Romanian non-governmental organisations opposing it, as well as the Romanian media.{{cite web|url=http://adevarul.ro/news/politica/presedintele-promulgat-legea-big-brother-1_50aeee447c42d5a663a1bd80/index.html |title=Preşedintele a promulgat "Legea Big Brother" |date=12 June 2012 |publisher=adevarul.ro |access-date=26 January 2014}}{{cite web |url=http://www.avocatnet.ro/content/articles/id_29398/Legea-Big-Brother-a-intrat-in-vigoare-Operatorii-de-telefonie-si-internet-vor-putea-stoca-o-serie-de-date-ale-abonatilor.html |title=Legea Big Brother a intrat in vigoare! Operatorii de telefonie si internet vor putea stoca o serie de date ale abonatilor |publisher=Avocatnet.ro |access-date=26 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161124025239/http://www.avocatnet.ro/content/articles/id_29398/Legea-Big-Brother-a-intrat-in-vigoare-Operatorii-de-telefonie-si-internet-vor-putea-stoca-o-serie-de-date-ale-abonatilor.html |archive-date=24 November 2016 |url-status=dead }} On 8 July 2014 this law too was declared unconstitutional by the CCR.{{cite web|url=http://www.mediafax.ro/social/legea-big-brother-prin-care-furnizorii-de-telefonie-si-internet-erau-obligati-sa-retina-date-ale-abonatilor-declarata-neconstitutionala-12907960|title=Legea 'Big Brother', prin care furnizorii de telefonie şi internet erau obligaţi să reţină date ale abonaţilor, declarată neconstituţională|publisher=mediafax.ro|access-date=8 July 2014}}

Criticism

The Data Retention Directive had sparked serious concerns from physicians, journalists, privacy and human rights groups, unions, IT security firms and legal experts.[http://www.vorratsdatenspeicherung.de/images/DRletter_Malmstroem.pdf Joint letter of 22 June 2010] to Cecilia Malmström, European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Viviane Reding, European Commission Vice-President with responsibility for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship and Neelie Kroes, European Commission Vice-President with responsibility for the Digital Agenda. (PDF, 88,5 kB)

Annullment

On 8 April 2014, in the landmark Digital Rights Ireland and Ors case, the Court of Justice of the European Union declared the Directive 2006/24/EC invalid for violating fundamental rights. The council's Legal Services have been reported to have stated in closed session that paragraph 59 of the European Court of Justice's ruling "suggests that general and blanket data retention is no longer possible".{{Cite web | url=http://www.vorratsdatenspeicherung.de/content/view/745/79/lang,en/ | title=Stoppt die Vorratsdatenspeicherung! - EU lawyers tell Member States: Blanket communications data retention "no longer possible" (23 Jun) }}

A legal opinion funded by the Greens–European Free Alliance in the European Parliament found that the blanket retention of data of unsuspicious persons generally violates the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, both in regard to national telecommunications data retention laws and to similar EU data retention schemes (Passenger name records, Terrorist Finance Tracking Programme, Terrorist Finance Tracking System, law enforcement access to the Entry-Exit-System, Eurodac, Visa Information System).Boehm/Cole: [https://www.uni-muenster.de/Jura.itm/hoeren/materialien/boehm/Boehm_Cole-Data_Retention_Study-June_2014.pdf Data Retention after the Judgement of the Court of Justice of the European Union] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141108102749/http://www.uni-muenster.de/Jura.itm/hoeren/materialien/boehm/Boehm_Cole-Data_Retention_Study-June_2014.pdf |date=8 November 2014 }}.

References

External links

[http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32006L0024:EN:NOT Text of the directive and national provisions on data retention communicated by the member states]. (HTML and PDF)

Category:European Union data protection law

Category:European Union directives

Category:2006 in European Union law

Category:Mass surveillance