Ministerio Fiscal: Holding the line on ePrivacy: Case C-207/16 Ministerio Fiscal, EU:C:2018:788.
| DOI | 10.1177/1023263X19853714 |
| Date | 01 August 2019 |
| Published date | 01 August 2019 |
| Author | Christopher Docksey |
| Subject Matter | Case note |
Case note
Ministerio Fiscal: Holding
the line on ePrivacy
Case C-207/16 Ministerio Fiscal,
EU:C:2018:788.
Christopher Docksey*
Abstract
In Ministerio Fiscal the Court of Justice of the European Union has considered once again the criteria
governing access by the authorities to data retained by electronic communications service pro-
viders permitted under Article 15(1) of Directive 2002/58 (the ‘ePrivacy Directive’), in particular
the principle of proportionality and the concept of ‘serious crime’ as developed in the recent Digital
Rights and Tele2 rulings.
Keywords
Privacy, data protection, Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU, ePrivacy, serious crime,
proportionality, subscriber data
1. Introduction
In Ministerio Fiscal,
1
the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU, the Court) has further
developed its jurisprudence on the criteria governing access by the authorities to personal data
retained by electronic communicatio ns service providers, as permitted under Ar ticle 15(1) of
Directive 2002/58 (the ‘ePrivacy Directive’).
2
The Court has avoided defining the concept of
* European Centre on Privacy and Cybersecurity, Faculty of Law, University of Maastricht
Corresponding author:
Christopher Docksey, European Centre on Privacy and Cybersecurity, Faculty of Law, University of Maastricht.
E-mail: christopher.docksey@maastrichtuniversity.nl
2. Directive 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2002 concerning the processing of
personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector, [2002] OJ L 201/37, as amended by
Directive 2009/136/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009 amending Directive 2002/
Maastricht Journal of European and
Comparative Law
2019, Vol. 26(4) 585–594
ªThe Author(s) 2019
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DOI: 10.1177/1023263X19853714
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