Approximation of laws – Protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data – Directive 95/46 (European Parliament and Council Directive 95/46) 1 Article 3(1) of Directive 95/46 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, which governs the scope of application of the directive, is to be interpreted as meaning that an activity in which data on the earned and unearned income and the assets of natural persons are: – collected from documents in the public domain held by the tax authorities and processed for publication, – published alphabetically in printed form by income bracket and municipality in the form of comprehensive lists, – transferred onward on CD-ROM to be used for commercial purposes, and, – processed for the purposes of a text-messaging service whereby mobile telephone users can, by sending a text message containing details of an individual’s name and municipality of residence to a given number, receive in reply information concerning the earned and unearned income and assets of that person, must be considered as the ‘processing of personal data’ within the meaning of that provision. (see para. 37, operative part 1) 2 Article 9 of Directive 95/46 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, which governs the relationship between the protection of such data and freedom of expression, is to be interpreted as meaning that an activity in which data on the earned and unearned income and the assets of natural persons are: – collected from documents in the public domain held by the tax authorities and processed for publication, – published alphabetically in printed form by income bracket and municipality in the form of comprehensive lists, – transferred onward on CD-ROM to be used for commercial purposes, and, – processed for the purposes of a text-messaging service whereby mobile telephone users can, by sending a text message containing details of an individual’s name and municipality of residence to a given number, receive in reply information concerning the earned and unearned income and assets of that person, must be considered as activities involving the processing of personal data carried out ‘solely for journalistic purposes’, within the meaning of that provision, if the sole object of those activities is the disclosure to the public, irrespective of the medium which is used to transmit them, of information, opinions or ideas. Whether that is the case is a matter for the national court to determine. In any event, those activities are not limited to media undertakings and may be undertaken for profit-making purposes. (see paras 61-62, operative part 2) 3 The scope of application of Directive 95/46 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data extends to the processing of personal data which consists in transferring onward on CD-ROM, in order for them to be used for commercial purposes, data on the earned and unearned income and the assets of natural persons which has been collected from documents in the public domain held by the tax authorities and processed for publication and which has already been published in the media. The scope of application of the directive also extends to the processing of such data for the purposes of a text-messaging service whereby mobile telephone users can, by sending a text message containing details of an individual’s name and municipality of residence to a given number, receive those data. (see para. 49, operative part 3) JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Grand Chamber) 16 December 2008 (*) (Directive 95/46/EC – Scope – Processing and flow of tax data of a personal nature – Protection of natural persons – Freedom of expression) In Case C‑73/07, REFERENCE for a preliminary ruling under Article 234 EC from the Korkein hallinto-oikeus (Finland), made by decision of 8 February 2007, received at the Court on 12 February 2007, in the proceedings Tietosuojavaltuutettu v Satakunnan Markkinapörssi Oy, Satamedia Oy, THE COURT (Grand Chamber), composed of V. Skouris, President, P. Jann, C.W.A. Timmermans, A. Rosas, K. Lenaerts and A. Ó Caoimh, Presidents of Chambers, P. Kūris, E. Juhász, G. Arestis, A. Borg Barthet, J. Klučka, U. Lõhmus and E. Levits (Rapporteur), Judges, Advocate General: J. Kokott, Registrar: C. Strömholm, Administrator, having regard to the written procedure and further to the hearing on 12 February 2008, after considering the observations submitted on behalf of: – Satakunnan Markkinapörssi Oy and Satamedia Oy, by P. Vainio, asianajaja, – the Finnish Government, by J. Heliskoski, acting as Agent, – the Estonian Government, by L. Uibo, acting as Agent, – the Portuguese Government, by L.I. Fernandes and C. Vieira Guerra, acting as Agents, – the Swedish Government, by A. Falk and K. Petkovska, acting as Agents, – the Commission of the European Communities, by C. Docksey and P. Aalto, acting as Agents, after hearing the Advocate General at the sitting on 8 May 2008, gives the following Judgment 1 This reference for a preliminary ruling relates to the interpretation of Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (OJ 1995 L 281, p. 31) (‘the directive’). 2 The reference was made in proceedings between the Tietosuojavaltuutettu (Data Protection Ombudsman) and the Tietosuojalautakunta (Data Protection Board) relating to activities involving the processing of personal data undertaken by Satakunnan Markkinapörssi Oy (‘Markkinapörssi’) and Satamedia Oy (‘Satamedia’). Legal context Community legislation 3 As is apparent from Article 1(1) of the directive, its objective is to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons, and, in particular, their right to privacy with respect to the processing of personal data.