ABSTRACT
In relation to the points the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) made, the Court noted that the main problem with the 2006 Directive was that it covered in a generalised manner all persons, all means of communication, and traffic data. This chapter argues that both historically and currently, EU legislation and the decisions of the CJEU in relation to the retention and access to telecommunications data have to a degree fettered the ability of the EU’s member state police and the security services to effectively investigate terrorism and serious crime. In Digital Rights the CJEU did ¬acknowledge data retention is an important strand in terrorism and serious crime investigations to ensure public safety and stated these specific grounds could be a justification. The Regulation reiterates how the protection of personal data is a fundamental right under both Article 8 CFRF and Article 16(1) Treaty of the Functioning of the EU.
