European Court of Justice Strikes Down Data Retention Law

New submitter nachtkap (951646) writes with some good news, as reported by the BBC: "The EU's top court has declared 'invalid' an EU law requiring telecoms firms to store citizens' communications data for up to two years. The EU Data Retention Directive was adopted in 2006. The European Court of Justice says it violates two basic rights — respect for private life, and protection of personal data. Germany's supreme court did call on the ECJ to look into this issue as well."

Comments

Good for them.

[serviscope_minor]

The EU does a lot wrong and it also does a lot right.

The thing is when the EU does something wrong that governments don't like, they piss and moan and make a fuss. Of course, the various governments pretty much cackled with glee when the EU came up with the data retention law, because it appealed to their creepy, snoopy, power hungry side.

But now the EU court has struck it down.

The system seems to work.

Re:Europe, here I come!

[Sique]

Because the english speaking countries in the E.U. don't have that much of each?

Almost makes me want to live there

[kheldan]

Is it just me, or is the EU government showing more respect for people's privacy than here in the U.S.?

Re:Almost makes me want to live there

[polar red]

the council has its power reduced and it's power partially handed over the european parliament (= what I consider th e most democratically elected body on earth).
purpose of the EU ? PEACE nothing else - and its doing a fine job. (check history ... western europe was basically waist-deep in blood up from before the dark ages until 1945)

We need another cold war

[GodfatherofSoul]

Those European communists appear to be stealing our freedom.