Data Retention In Europe – Lessons Learned?

Following the decision of Europe's top court, the Court of Justice of the European Union ("CJEU") to strike down the Data Protection Directive (the "Directive") in 2014, national governments have been in flux as to the status of legislation they introduced to transpose the Directive. An Opinion from the European Parliament's Legal Services, which has been obtained and published online by various privacy advocacy groups, sets out specific guidance that the EU must follow if it intends to legislate again in this area.

Lessons

Some of the standout commentary from the Opinion states that:

1. Any national data retention measures must now be examined to see whether they comply with the principles of law set out in the CJEU's decision. At page 26 of the Opinion, member states are warned that they, 'run an ever higher risk than before of having their legislation annulled by the national courts, in a similar way to what has already happened in a number of Member States'.