[Chapter-delegates] German high court: law ordering phone, e-mail traffic data retention violates constitution

[Hans Peter Dittler]

Hello Rudi,

thanks for making this available on the list so quickly.
I am still reading and trying to understand the full length German version of the courts press release and follow-up communications.

It is one more in a whole series of highest court rulings where not the idea of the basic principle (in this case retention of data communication records) is ruled as conflicting with the German "Grundgesetz", but the making of the law and some parts like missing protection of the data and more specific restrictions of usage of the data. Especially the underlying EU-rules for data retention are considered as still valid by the court.

The execution of data retention is now stopped, at least for the moment. This is at least a partial or temporary win for user-rights.

But I still expect a refurbished and enhanced version of the law to be soon to appear from our government - it is not over.

That is the method the government seems to be working these days - make a new law in hurry and push it through the chambers, wait for the high court to find any flaws - repair it afterwards and repeat the process.

Let us hope (and work for) that the next revision of the law is respecting privacy and user rights more and better.

just my first and quick impressions


Hans Peter Dittler
Member of the board
ISOC.DE
Internet Society German Chapter e.V.