2nd Newsletter -> 15 - 21 July 2016
AG Saugmandsgaard Øe: Retention of personal data is lawful if used to fight serious crime
Advocate General at the Court of Justice of the European Union Saugmandsgaard Øe has issued his opinion on joint cases C-203/15 and C-698/15. In his statement he says that the retention of personal data is lawful under the condition it is used to fight serious crime and does not infringe on an individual’s privacy rights. This generally applies only to metadata, such as the date, time, the source, destination, and duration of calls, but not the content of the conversation itself.
The AG also outlined various conditions in which the retention of data would be deemed lawful:
- the general obligation to retain data must be laid down by accessible and foreseeable legislative/regulatory measures, which are not arbitrary,
- the obligation must respect the essence of the right to respect for private life and the right to the protection of personal data laid down by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights,
- any interference with the fundamental rights should be in the pursuit of an objective in the general interest,
- the general obligation to retain data must be strictly necessary for the fight against serious crime,
- the general obligation to retain data must be proportionate.
Read more HERE
Read the official press release HERE
Read AG’s full opinion HERE
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CNIL: Windows 10 collects excessive amounts of personal information
The French National Data Protection Commission (CNIL) has found out that Windows 10 operating system developed by Microsoft breaches French law by collecting excessive amounts of personal information from users and failing to secure it adequately. The Commission performed seven tests on the data sent back to Microsoft from the operating system and found out that this process collected excessive and unnecessary amount of personal information, such as downloaded apps and time spent using one. This privacy issues can be remedied by the user, but the process of opting out means delving deep into Windows 10 settings, and CNIL found the process to burdensome for consumers.
CNIL served Microsoft with a formal notice on the 30th of June, giving it three months to comply with the law. In case Microsoft doesn't comply with CNIL's demands by the end of the deadline in September it could face fines of up to €1.5 million.
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