The Commission "Is Not Ready To Play This Game" - Refuses To Comment On Germany's Data Retention Laws

The Data Retention Directive was enacted as a reaction to the 2004 and 2005 terrorist attacks in Europe in order to harmonize the investigation and prosecution mechanisms throughout the EU, especially with regards to organized crime and terrorism. This Directive required operators to hold on to certain types of data for periods which varied from 6 months to 2 years, and to make such data accessible to law enforcement authorities for the purposes of investigating, detecting and prosecuting serious crime and terrorism.

This Directive faced much criticism due to the fact that it did not include proper safeguards and there was no limit what the data could be used for. In fact, in 2014, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled this Directive invalid – declaring it incompatible with the fundamental rights to respect for private and family life and to the protection of personal data, while also not meeting the principle of proportionality.