# DIGITAL RIGHTS IRELAND LTD V. IRELAND,

- Type: Case Law
- Source: CJEU
- Date: 2014-04-08
- Original: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:62012CJ0293
- Canonical: https://overview.legal/posts/5964
- Topics: Consent, Minors, Telecommunications, Data Subject Rights Exercise Modalities and Procedures, GDPR Subject-Matter and Objectives, Lawful Basis, Personal Data, Security, IP Address, Accountability

## Summary

Article 7 CFR: The obligation on providers of publicly available electronic communications services or public communications networks to retain data relating to a person’s private life and his communications in itself constitutes an interference with Article 7. Access of competent national authorities to the data constitutes a further interference with that right. Any limitation on the exercise of rights and freedoms laid down by the CFR must be provided by law, respect their essence and, subjec

## Sections (4)

### ¶38

Article 52(1) of the Charter provides that any limitation on the exercise of the rights and freedoms laid down by the Charter must be provided for by law, respect their essence and, subject to the principle of proportionality, limitations may be made to those rights and freedoms only if they are necessary and genuinely meet objectives of general interest recognised by the Union or the need to protect the rights and freedoms of others.

> Applies: gdpr-art-52-par-1-en

### ¶39

So far as concerns the essence of the fundamental right to privacy and the other rights laid down in Article 7 of the Charter, it must be held that, even though the retention of data required by Directive 2006/24 constitutes a particularly serious interference with those rights, it is not such as to adversely affect the essence of those rights given that, as follows from Article 1(2) of the directive, the directive does not permit the acquisition of knowledge of the content of the electronic communications as such.

> Topics: Telecommunications · Applies: gdpr-art-1-par-2-en, gdpr-art-7-en

### ¶40

Nor is that retention of data such as to adversely affect the essence of the fundamental right to the protection of personal data enshrined in Article 8 of the Charter, because Article 7 of Directive 2006/24 provides, in relation to data protection and data security, that, without prejudice to the provisions adopted pursuant to Directives 95/46 and 2002/58, certain principles of data protection and data security must be respected by providers of publicly available electronic communications services or of public communications networks. According to those principles, Member States are to ensure that appropriate technical and organisational measures are adopted against accidental or unlawful destruction, accidental loss or alteration of the data.

> Topics: Telecommunications, Security, Personal Data · Applies: gdpr-art-7-en, gdpr-art-8-en

### ¶7

Data protection and data security Without prejudice to the provisions adopted pursuant to Directive 95/46/EC and Directive 2002/58/EC, each Member State shall ensure that providers of publicly available electronic communications services or of a public communications network respect, as a minimum, the following data security principles with respect to data retained in accordance with this Directive: (a) the retained data shall be of the same quality and subject to the same security and protection as those data on the network; (b) the data shall be subject to appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect the data against accidental or unlawful destruction, accidental loss or alteration, or unauthorised or unlawful storage, processing, access or disclosure; (c) the data shall be subject to appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure that they can be accessed by specially authorised personnel only; and (d) the data, except those that have been accessed and preserved, shall be destroyed at the end of the period of retention. Article

> Topics: Telecommunications, Security

## Cited law provisions (4)

### GDPR — gdpr-art-1-par-2-en

This Regulation protects fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons and in particular their right to the protection of personal data.

### GDPR — gdpr-art-52-par-1-en

Each supervisory authority shall act with complete independence in performing its tasks and exercising its powers in accordance with this Regulation.

### GDPR — gdpr-art-7-en

Conditions for consent

### GDPR — gdpr-art-8-en

Conditions applicable to child's consent in relation to information society services

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