Irish Court Finds Data Retention Law Violates Human Rights
The Irish High Court has ruled that Ireland's retention of telephone data violates European Law and the European Convention on Human Rights. The Communications Act, which requires all service providers to retain data for two years, is "general and indiscriminate." The Court also found insufficient safeguards for access to data, noting that the law did not require prior judicial and had few guarantees against abuse.The Court will now issue a final order to determine how the case will proceed. EPIC is participating DPC v. Facebook - an Irish High Court Case recently referred to the top European Court of Justice to determine whether Facebook's transfer of data from Ireland to the United States violates EU data protection law. EPIC has also petitioned the FCC to end a similar data retention mandate, arguing that it is inconsistent with international law.