In its 30 April 2024 ruling, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) shared its assessment of the legality of Hadopi’s massive surveil

Surveillance and Hadopi: EU Court buries online anonymity a little further

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2024-06-07 20:30:07

In its 30 April 2024 ruling, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) shared its assessment of the legality of Hadopi’s massive surveillance system. The ruling is disappointing. The CJEU has considerably watered down its previous case law, with impacts beyond the Hadopi case. With this new ruling, access to IP addresses is no longer considered a serious interference with fundamental rights by default. As a result, the Court allows the possibility of mass surveillance of the Internet.

The CJEU has just authorised mass, automated access to IP addresses associated with the civil identity and content of a communication. This access can be done for petty purposes and without prior review by a court or an independent administrative authority.

The 30 April 2024 ruling is a major U-turn in EU case law. After a decade of legal struggle, during which European governments deliberately chose not to respect and implement the many previous CJEU rulings on data retention, police forces across Europe have just won the battle. With today’s judgment, the CJEU is admitting that it will eventually change its case law if its rulings are not applied. This is a worrying weakening of the Court’s authority in the face of Member States’ pressure.