In recent years, there has been an ongoing struggle between privacy and security, with many governments looking to increase their surveillance powers in the name of fighting terrorism and protecting the population. Following the Snowden revelations, it seemed that the dial had begun to turn toward privacy. However, recent events – in particular, the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris in January 2015 and the Sony hacking in December 2014 – appear to be pushing governments and public opinion back towards improved security, at the expense of personal privacy. In this Alert, we consider the current state of surveillance laws in Europe.

BACKGROUND -

In 2014, the tide of opinion appeared to be turning in favor of privacy. Firstly, in a landmark ruling in spring 2014, the European Court of Justice (the ECJ) invalidated Directive 2006/24/EC (commonly referred to as the Data Retention Directive), on the grounds that “it interfere[d] in a particularly serious manner with the fundamental rights to respect for private life and to the protection of personal data.” The Data Retention Directive had long been criticized by privacy campaigners; however, its invalidation arguably created more problems than it solved, with EU Member States consequently taking conflicting positions on data retention in the wake of the ECJ’s judgment and recent international and political events.