The Court of Justice of the European Union, Data Retention and the Rights to Data Protection and Privacy - Where Are We Now?

In a recent judgment the CJEU found the Data Retention Directive to be incompatible with the rights to privacy and data protection under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. However, the Court's interpretation of these fundamental rights needs further development, especially with regard to their respective scopes. While the Court declared the EU Directive to be invalid, there remain questions with regard to the Member States' national implementation measures, which remain in force. Nevertheless, they do no longer comply with EU law and therefore need to be repealed or altered substantively. While it should be for the national legislator to achieve this, it might be necessary for service providers and citizens to challenge these provisions before the competent national courts.