European Commission Clarifies Its Stance On National Data Retention Laws

Since the 2014 decision of Europe's highest court – the CJEU – in Digital Rights Ireland, various Member States have seen changes to their national data retention laws. In the Digital Rights Ireland case, the court found the EU Data Retention Directive to be invalid. In particular, the court found the Directive incompatible with the fundamental right to privacy and viewed European lawmakers as having gone beyond what was proportionate to tackle serious crime.

In the 18 months following the case, a number of challenges to national data retention laws have taken place, including in the UK. Interestingly, despite the application to the CJEU having its roots in an Irish case, Irish data retention laws still remain untouched and the case is still pending before the Irish courts. Recently, the European Commission ("EC") issued a statement on national data retention laws, providing some additional insight into the views at EU level.