DATA PROTECTION
EU Court of Justice: a national public authority in charge of fighting online counterfeiting can access identification data from an IP address.
Member States may impose on internet access providers an obligation to retain IP addresses, in a general and indiscriminate manner, for the purposes of combating criminal offences in general, provided that such retention does not allow precise conclusions to be drawn about the private life of the person concerned. That can be achieved by retention arrangements that ensure a genuinely watertight separation of IP addresses and other categories of personal data, in particular civil identity data.
Member States may also, under certain conditions, authorise the competent national authority to access the civil identity data associated with IP addresses, provided that such retention – guaranteeing a watertight separation of the different categories of retained data – has been ensured.
Where, in atypical situations, the specific features of a national procedure governing such access may – through the linking of the data and information collected – allow precise conclusions to be drawn about the private life of the person concerned, access must be subject to prior review by a court or by an independent administrative body.
Member States may also, under certain conditions, authorise the competent national authority to access the civil identity data associated with IP addresses, provided that such retention – guaranteeing a watertight separation of the different categories of retained data – has been ensured.
Where, in atypical situations, the specific features of a national procedure governing such access may – through the linking of the data and information collected – allow precise conclusions to be drawn about the private life of the person concerned, access must be subject to prior review by a court or by an independent administrative body.
