Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterEuropean Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, June 17, 2022.
REUTERS/Yves Herman//File PhotoLUXEMBOURG, Sept 20 (Reuters) - EU governments cannot hold indiscriminately personal data unless there is a serious threat to national security, Europe's top court said on Tuesday, dealing a setback to EU countries banking on mass data retention laws to combat crime and safeguard national security.
The German court subsequently sought the advice of the CJEU which said such data retention can only be allowed under very strict conditions.
"The Court of Justice confirms that EU law precludes the general and indiscriminate retention of traffic and location data, except in the case of a serious threat to national security," the judges said.
($1 = 0.9984 euros)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.