German Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig: Legal obligation of telecommunication providers for data retention of telecommunication traffic data infringes EU law
Following the long-awaited ruling by the European Court of Justice on 22 September last year, which stated that the German regulations on data retention are incompatible with EU law, the German Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig has now also issued its verdict. This has finally put an end to the long-standing legal dispute over data retention. For many years now, eco has been campaigning against data retention and, from the very beginning, it supported the lawsuit filed by SpaceNet AG with the Cologne Administrative Court in 2016.
eco Chair of the Board Oliver SĂĽme has this to say:
“Almost another year has now passed since the European Court of Justice handed down its decision. Now the German Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig has also reached its verdict. Time and again, we have expressed criticism regarding the massive encroachment on citizens’ privacy that data retention entails, with no evidence available of any added value for law enforcement. The German federal government should now finally seize the opportunity to set a political course and initiate the repeal of data retention.”
