EncroChat ruling has ‘far-reaching effects’ for legal role of interception in UK investigations
The computer forensic experts involved in the review of police use of data hacked from the ultra-secure EncroChat phone network assess the impact of the Appeal Court ruling on future legal use of intercept evidence
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By Published: 15 Mar 2021
Duncan Campbell and Dr Ian Brown were the only computer forensic expert witnesses for the first evidence review of police use of data hacked during 2020 from the ultra secure EncroChat phone network, claimed to be dedicated for the use of serious criminals. Here they assess the impact of the appeal court verdict on future legal use of intercept evidence.
(Image by flyerwerk from Pixabay via Courthouse News)
LUXEMBOURG (CN) Personal cellphone data can be used only in the investigation of serious crimes, the EU’s high court found on Tuesday.
In its decision, the European Court of Justice noted that, unless it’s for a serious crime or in the interest of public safety, countries are prohibited from obtaining location data under the European Union’s 2002 Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive.
“The access of state authorities to data making it possible to identify the source and destination of a telephone communication from a suspect’s landline or mobile telephone, to determine the date, time, duration and type of that communication, to identify the communications equipment used and to establish the location of the mobile communication equipment used amounts to interference with the fundamental rights at issue which is so serious that such access should be restricted to combating serious crime,” the Luxembourg-
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According to the Council of the European Union, there are plans to move forward with replacing the Cookie Directive with the ePrivacy Regulation.
Background on the ePrivacy Directive
While the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is an omnibus law on data protection and privacy for personal data, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive 2002/58/EC (ePrivacy Directive or Cookie Directive) is more focused than the general law and covers electronic communications. The ePrivacy Directive specifically covers “traffic data” (i.e., metadata) and due to its requirements regarding cookies, it is largely the reason behind the cookie banners appearing on websites across the Internet.
Facebook warns ePrivacy Directive in Europe could be harmful
Ewdison Then - Dec 21, 2020, 6:47pm CST
It seems that Facebook is setting itself up as an enemy of endeavors to protect privacy even as it tries to argue how such attempts do more harm than good. In Europe, it is trying to explain why some features in Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram have suddenly become unavailable in order to comply with the Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive (ePrivacy Directive). In the same breath, however, it is also suggesting that this new regulation could actually put users in more danger because Facebook won’t be able to report harmful content and activity.