Breyer Ruling, And Dynamic IP Addresses As Personal Data

In October this year, another interesting decision relating to data protection was issued in response to the constant evolution of modern communication technologies, dealing specifically with the definition of personal data pursuant to Article 2(a) of Directive 95/46/EC and its scope. From our perspective, the judgement of the Court of Justice of the European Union in the case C-582/14 Patrick Breyer v. Bundesrepublik Deutschland is not surprising as this decision only articulates a long-time general opinion on the issue of dynamic IP addresses which, in conjunction with other information, may be regarded as personal data. As a matter of fact, this approach was confirmed by an express reference to network identifiers in the definition of personal data under the new general data protection regulation.