On Monday 13 September, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) will examine a case concerning the German law on the general, indiscriminate and exhaustive retention of all Internet connection, location and access data (cases C-793/19 and C-794/19).
In April 2016, internet service provider SpaceNet won its case before the Administrative Court in Cologne, which ruled that Germany’s general storage obligation was not compatible with EU law.
As the Federal Administrative Court disagreed with this decision, it will be up to the CJEU to clarify whether Germany’s general data storage obligation is compatible with EU law.
“The indiscriminate collection of sensitive information on the social and professional interactions, movements and private lives of millions of citizens who are not suspected of any wrongdoing is a radical and unacceptable measure of mass surveillance”, said MEP Patrick Breyer (Greens/EFA, Germany), who challenged Germany’s first data retention law before the German Constitutional Court.
The following day, Tuesday 14 September, the CJEU will consider a French case concerning the admissibility of evidence obtained through the unlawful retention of data (Case C-339/20).
On 5 October 2020, a European Parliament enquiry revealed that 28 legal actions have been brought against data retention laws in the EU since 2009. In 13 cases, the retention rules were limited or invalidated. Three judgments are still pending. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)