CDT Brief with the CJEU Challenging French Surveillance and Data Retention

On December 4, CDT filed a brief (in French; see here for the English version) with the Court of Justice of the European Union challenging French surveillance and data retention laws. We argue in the brief that French law, which permits bulk surveillance domestically and compels communications service providers to retain various types of metadata, violates the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. We also point out that such requirements are unnecessary to achieve the national security and crime-fighting goals for which they were put in place. For example, the United States specifically outlawed bulk surveillance within the U.S., and declined to adopt a data retention mandate.

We are grateful to La Quadrature du Net and to the legal team in Paris, led by attorney Alexis Fitzjean O’Cobhthaigh, that assisted us with the brief.