Directive 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2002 concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector (Directive on privacy and electronic communications) Basic information Dates Date of document: Date of publication: Date of effect: July 31, 2002 Entry into force - Date pub. See Art 20 Deadline: October 30, 2003 At the latest See Art 17.1 Modified by Modified by: Amendment proposed by: All documents based on this document: Derogated in: Modifies Repeal: Affected by case Case C-275/06: Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 29 January 2008 (Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Juzgado de lo Mercantil No 5 de Madrid — Spain) — Productores de Música de España (Promusicae) v Telefónica de España SAU (Information society — Obligations of providers of services — Retention and disclosure of certain traffic data — Obligation of disclosure — Limits — Protection of the confidentiality of electronic communications — Compatibility with the protection of copyright and related rights — Right to effective protection of intellectual property) Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 27 October 2022. Proximus NV v Gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit. Request for a preliminary ruling from the Hof van beroep te Brussel. Reference for a preliminary ruling – Processing of personal data and protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector – Directive 2002/58/EC – Article 12 – Public telephone directories and directory enquiry services – Subscriber’s consent – Obligations of the provider of directories and of directory enquiry services – Regulation (EU) 2016/679 – Article 17 – Right to erasure (‘right to be forgotten’) – Article 5(2) – Article 24 – Information obligations and responsibility of the controller. Case C-129/21. Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 20 September 2022. Criminal proceedings against VD bd]& xd; & xd; Criminal proceedings against VD and SR. Requests for a preliminary ruling from the Cour de cassation. References for a preliminary ruling – Single Market for financial services – Market abuse – Insider dealing – Directive 2003/6/EC – Article 12(2)(a) and (d) – Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 – Article 23(2)(g) and (h) – Supervisory and investigatory powers of the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) – General interest objective seeking to protect the integrity of financial markets in the European Union and public confidence in financial instruments – Option open to the AMF to require the traffic data records held by an operator providing electronic communications services – Processing of personal data in the electronic communications sector – Directive 2002/58/EC – Article 15(1) – Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – Articles 7, 8 and 11 and Article 52(1) – Confidentiality of communications – Restrictions – Legislation providing for the general and indiscriminate retention of traffic data by operators providing electronic communications services – Option for a national court to restrict the temporal effects of a declaration of invalidity in respect of provisions of national law that are incompatible with EU law – Precluded. Joined Cases C-339/20 and C-397/20. Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 21 December 2016. Tele2 Sverige AB v Post- och telestyrelsen. Reference for a preliminary ruling — Electronic communications — Processing of personal data — Confidentiality of electronic communications — Protection — Directive 2002/58/EC — Articles 5, 6 and 9 and Article 15(1) — Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union — Articles 7, 8 and 11 and Article 52(1) — National legislation — Providers of electronic communications services — Obligation relating to the general and indiscriminate retention of traffic and location data — National authorities — Access to data — No prior review by a court or independent administrative authority — Compatibility with EU law. Case C-203/15. Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 16 February 2023. HYA and Othersprokuratura. Request for a preliminary ruling from the Spetsializiran nakazatelen sad. Reference for a preliminary ruling – Telecommunications sector – Processing of personal data and the protection of privacy – Directive 2002/58/EC – Article 15(1) – Restriction of the confidentiality of electronic communications – Judicial decision authorising the interception, recording and storage of telephone conversations of persons suspected of having committed a serious intentional offence – Practice whereby the decision is drawn up in accordance with a pre-drafted template text that does not contain individualised reasons – Second paragraph of Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – Obligation to state reasons. Case C-349/21. Judgment of the Court (Full Court) of 30 April 2024. La Quadrature du Net and Others v Premier ministre and Ministère de la Culture. Request for a preliminary ruling from the Conseil d'État. Reference for a preliminary ruling – Processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector – Directive 2002/58/EC – Confidentiality of electronic communications – Protection – Article 5 and Article 15(1) – Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – Articles 7, 8 and 11 and Article 52(1) – National legislation aimed at combating, through action by a public authority, counterfeiting offences committed on the internet – ‘Graduated response’ procedure – Upstream collection by rightholder organisations of IP addresses used for activities infringing copyright or related rights – Downstream access by the public authority responsible for the protection of copyright and related rights to data relating to the civil identity associated with those IP addresses retained by providers of electronic communications services – Automated processing – Requirement of prior review by a court or an independent administrative body – Substantive and procedural conditions – Safeguards against the risks of abuse and against any unlawful access to or use of those data. Case C-470/21. Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber), 22 November 2012. Josef Probst v mr.nexnet GmbH. Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesgerichtshof. Electronic communications — Directive 2002/58/EC — Article 6(2) and (5) — Processing of personal data — Traffic data necessary for billing and debt collection — Debt collection by a third company — Persons acting under the authority of the providers of public communications networks and electronic communications services. Case C‑119/12. Case C-557/07: Order of the Court (Eighth Chamber) of 19 February 2009 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Oberster Gerichtshof (Austria)) — LSG-Gesellschaft zur Wahrnehmung von Leistungsschutzrechten GmbH v Tele2 Telecommunication GmbH (Article 104(3) of the Rules of Procedure — Information society — Copyright and related right — Retention and disclosure of certain traffic data — Protecting the confidentiality of electronic communication — Intermediaries within the meaning of Article 8(3) of Directive 2001/29/EC) {AR|http://publications.europa.eu/resource/authority/fd_370/AR} 15.1 Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 30 April 2024. Criminal proceedings against Procura della Repubblica presso il Tribunale di Bolzano. Request for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunale di Bolzano / Landesgericht Bozen. Reference for a preliminary ruling – Processing of personal data in the electronic communications sector – Confidentiality of communications – Providers of electronic communications services – Directive 2002/58/EC – Article 15(1) – Articles 7, 8, 11 and Article 52(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – Access to those data requested by a national authority having competence to prosecute offences of aggravated theft – Definition of the concept of ‘serious offence’ the prosecution of which is capable of justifying serious interference with fundamental rights – Competence of the Member States – Principle of proportionality – Scope of prior review by a court of the requests to access the data retained by providers of electronic communications services. Case C-178/22. Order of the Court (Eighth Chamber) of 19 February 2009. LSG-Gesellschaft zur Wahrnehmung von Leistungsschutzrechten GmbH v Tele2 Telecommunication GmbH. Reference for a preliminary ruling: Oberster Gerichtshof - Austria. Article 104(3) of the Rules of Procedure - Information society - Copyright and related right - Retention and disclosure of certain traffic data - Protecting the confidentiality of electronic communication - 'Intermediaries' within the meaning of Article 8(3) of Directive 2001/29/EC. Case C-557/07. Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 6 October 2020. Privacy International v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Others. Reference for a preliminary ruling – Processing of personal data in the electronic communications sector – Providers of electronic communications services – General and indiscriminate transmission of traffic data and location data – Safeguarding of national security – Directive 2002/58/EC – Scope – Article 1(3) and Article 3 – Confidentiality of electronic communications – Protection – Article 5 and Article 15(1) – Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – Articles 7, 8 and 11 and Article 52(1) – Article 4(2) TEU. Case C-623/17. Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 17 June 2021. Mircom International Content Management & Consulting (M.I.C.M.) Limited v Telenet BVBA. Request for a preliminary ruling from the Ondernemingsrechtbank Antwerpen. Reference for a preliminary ruling – Intellectual property – Copyright and related rights – Directive 2001/29/EC – Article 3(1) and (2) – Concept of ‘making available to the public’ – Downloading of a file containing a protected work via a peer-to-peer network and the simultaneous provision for uploading pieces of that file – Directive 2004/48/EC – Article 3(2) – Misuse of measures, procedures and remedies – Article 4 – Persons entitled to apply for the application of measures, procedures and remedies – Article 8 – Right of information – Article 13 – Concept of ‘prejudice’ – Regulation (EU) 2016/679 – Point (f) of the first subparagraph of Article 6(1) – Protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data – Lawfulness of processing – Directive 2002/58/EC – Article 15(1) – Legislative measures to restrict the scope of the rights and obligations – Fundamental rights – Articles 7 and 8, Article 17(2) and the first paragraph of Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Case C-597/19. Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 24 November 2011. Scarlet Extended SA v Société belge des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs SCRL (SABAM). Reference for a preliminary ruling: Cour d'appel de Bruxelles - Belgium. Information society - Copyright - Internet - ‘Peer-to-peer’ software - Internet service providers - Installation of a system for filtering electronic communications in order to prevent file sharing which infringes copyright - No general obligation to monitor information transmitted. Case C-70/10. Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 2 March 2021. Criminal proceedings against H. K. Request for a preliminary ruling from the Riigikohus. Reference for a preliminary ruling – Processing of personal data in the electronic communications sector – Directive 2002/58/EC – Providers of electronic communications services – Confidentiality of the communications – Limitations – Article 15(1) – Articles 7, 8 and 11 and Article 52(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – Legislation providing for the general and indiscriminate retention of traffic and location data by providers of electronic communications services – Access of national authorities to retained data for the purpose of investigations – Combating of crime in general – Authorisation given by the public prosecutor’s office – Use of data in criminal proceedings as evidence – Admissibility. Case C-746/18. Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 29 January 2008. Productores de Música de España (Promusicae) v Telefónica de España SAU. Reference for a preliminary ruling: Juzgado de lo Mercantil nº 5 de Madrid - Spain. Information society - Obligations of providers of services - Retention and disclosure of certain traffic data - Obligation of disclosure - Limits - Protection of the confidentiality of electronic communications - Compatibility with the protection of copyright and related rights - Right to effective protection of intellectual property. Case C-275/06. Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 5 May 2011. Deutsche Telekom AG v Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Reference for a preliminary ruling: Bundesverwaltungsgericht - Germany. Electronic communications - Directive 2002/22/EC - Article 25(2) - Directive 2002/58/EC - Article 12 - Provision of directory enquiry services and directories - Obligation placed on an undertaking assigning telephone numbers to pass to other undertakings data in its possession relating to the subscribers of third-party undertakings. Case C-543/09. Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 25 November 2021. StWL Städtische Werke Lauf a.d. Pegnitz GmbH v eprimo GmbH. Request for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesgerichtshof. Reference for a preliminary ruling – Directive 2002/58/EC – Processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector – Article 2(h) – Concept of ‘electronic mail’ – Article 13(1) – Concept of ‘use of … electronic mail for the purposes of direct marketing’ – Directive 2005/29/EC – Unfair commercial practices – Annex I, point 26 – Concept of ‘persistent and unwanted solicitations by email’ – Advertising messages – Inbox advertising. Case C-102/20. Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 7 September 2023. A. G. v Lietuvos Respublikos generalinė prokuratūra. Request for a preliminary ruling from the Lietuvos vyriausiasis administracinis teismas. Reference for a preliminary ruling – Telecommunications – Processing of personal data in the electronic communications sector – Directive 2002/58/EC – Scope – Article 15(1) – Data retained by providers of electronic communications services and made available to authorities in charge of criminal proceedings – Subsequent use of those data in an investigation into misconduct in office. Case C-162/22. Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 17 November 2022. Proceedings brought by Spetsializirana prokuratura. Request for a preliminary ruling from the Spetsializiran nakazatelen sad. Reference for a preliminary ruling – Processing of personal data in the electronic communication sector – Confidentiality of communications – Providers of electronic communications services – General and indiscriminate retention of traffic and location data for a period of six months – Combatting serious crime – Access to the retained data – Informing data subjects – Right to bring an action – Directive 2002/58/EC – Article 15(1) and (2) – Directive (EU) 2016/680 – Articles 13 and 54 – Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – Articles 7, 8, 11 and 47 and Article 52(1). Case C-350/21. Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber), 19 April 2012. Bonnier Audio AB and Others v Perfect Communication Sweden AB. Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Högsta domstolen. Copyright and related rights — Processing of data by internet — Infringement of an exclusive right — Audio books made available via an FTP server via internet by an IP address supplied by an internet service provider — Injunction issued against the internet service provider ordering it to provide the name and address of the user of the IP address. Case C‑461/10. Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 1 October 2019. Bundesverband der Verbraucherzentralen und Verbraucherverbände - Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband e.V. v Planet49 GmbH. Request for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesgerichtshof. Reference for a preliminary ruling — Directive 95/46/EC — Directive 2002/58/EC — Regulation (EU) 2016/679 — Processing of personal data and protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector — Cookies — Concept of consent of the data subject — Declaration of consent by means of a pre-ticked checkbox. Case C-673/17. Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 6 October 2020. La Quadrature du Net and Others v Premier ministre and Others. Requests for a preliminary ruling from the Conseil d'État (France) and Cour constitutionnelle (Belgium). Reference for a preliminary ruling – Processing of personal data in the electronic communications sector – Providers of electronic communications services – Hosting service providers and Internet access providers – General and indiscriminate retention of traffic and location data – Automated analysis of data – Real-time access to data – Safeguarding national security and combating terrorism – Combating crime – Directive 2002/58/EC – Scope – Article 1(3) and Article 3 – Confidentiality of electronic communications – Protection – Article 5 and Article 15(1) – Directive 2000/31/EC – Scope – Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – Articles 4, 6, 7, 8 and 11 and Article 52(1) – Article 4(2) TEU. Joined Cases C-511/18, C-512/18 and C-520/18. Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 5 April 2022. G.D. v The Commissioner of the Garda Síochána and Others. Reference for a preliminary ruling – Processing of personal data in the electronic communications sector – Confidentiality of the communications – Providers of electronic communications services – General and indiscriminate retention of traffic and location data – Access to retained data – Subsequent court supervision – Directive 2002/58/EC – Article 15(1) – Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – Articles 7, 8 and 11 and Article 52(1) – Possibility for a national court to restrict the temporal effect of a declaration of the invalidity of national legislation that is incompatible with EU law – Excluded. Case C-140/20. Case C-162/22: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Lietuvos vyriausiasis administracinis teismas (Lithuania) lodged on 3 March 2022 — A.G. v Lietuvos Respublikos generalinė prokuratūra Case C-178/22: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunale di Bolzano (Italy) lodged on 8 March 2022 — Criminal proceedings against Unknown individuals Case C-673/17: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesgerichtshof (Germany) lodged on 30 November 2017 — Planet49 GmbH v Bundesverband der Verbraucherzentralen und Verbraucherverbände — Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband e. V. article 2 point (f) article 5 paragraph 3 Case C-350/21: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Spetsializiran nakazatelen sad (Bulgaria) lodged on 4 June 2021 — Criminal proceedings against Spetsializirana prokuratura article 15 paragraph 1 article 5 paragraph 1 recital 11 Case C-349/21: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Spetsializiran nakazatelen sad (Bulgaria) lodged on 4 June 2021 — Criminal proceedings against HYA and Others article 5 paragraph 1 article 15 paragraph 1 recital 11 Case C-334/21: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunale di Rieti (Italy) lodged on 26 May 2021 — Criminal proceedings against G.B., R.H. Case C-654/23, Inteligo Media: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Curtea de Apel București (Romania) lodged on 2 November 2023 — Inteligo Media SA v Autoritatea Națională de Supraveghere a Prelucrării Datelor cu Caracter Personal (ANSPDCP) article 13 paragraph 2 article 15 paragraph 2 article 13 paragraph 1 Case C-475/16: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Protodikeio Rethymnis (Greece) lodged on 17 August 2016 — Criminal proceedings against K. Case C-102/20: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesgerichtshof (Germany) lodged on 26 February 2020 — StWL Städtische Werke Lauf a.d. Pegnitz GmbH v eprimo GmbH article 13 paragraph 1 article 2 point (h) sentence 2 Case C-203/15: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Kammarrätten i Stockholm (Sweden) lodged on 4 May 2015 — Tele2 Sverige AB v Post- och telestyrelsen Case C-129/21: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Hof van beroep te Brussel (Belgium) lodged on 2 March 2021 — Proximus NV v Gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit article 12 paragraph 2 article 2 point (f) Case C-520/18: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Cour constitutionnelle (Belgium) lodged on 2 August 2018 — Ordre des barreaux francophones et germanophone, Académie Fiscale ASBL, UA, Liga voor Mensenrechten ASBL, Ligue des Droits de l’Homme ASBL, VZ, WY, XX v Conseil des ministres Case C-140/20: Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Supreme Court (Ireland) made on 25 March 2020 — G.D. v The Commissioner of the Garda Síochána, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Ressources, Attorney General Case C-241/22: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Hoge Raad der Nederlanden (Netherlands) lodged on 6 April 2022 — Criminal proceedings against DX article 2 point (b) article 15 paragraph 1 Case C-623/17: Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Investigatory Powers Tribunal — London (United Kingdom) made on 31 October 2017 — Privacy International v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Others Case C-512/18: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Conseil d’État (France) lodged on 3 August 2018 — French Data Network, La Quadrature du Net, Fédération des fournisseurs d’accès à Internet associatifs v Premier ministre, Garde des Sceaux, Ministre de la Justice Case C-511/18: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Conseil d’État (France) lodged on 3 August 2018 — La Quadrature du Net, French Data Network, Fédération des fournisseurs d’accès à Internet associatifs, Igwan.net v Premier ministre, Garde des Sceaux, Ministre de la Justice, Ministre de l’Intérieur, Ministre des Armées Case C-470/21: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Conseil d’État (France) lodged on 30 July 2021 — La Quadrature du Net, Fédération des fournisseurs d’accès à internet associatifs, Franciliens.net, French Data Network v Premier ministre, Ministère de la Culture Case C-746/18: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Riigikohus (Estonia) lodged on 29 November 2018 — H.K. v Prokuratuur Case C-793/19: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesverwaltungsgericht (Germany) lodged on 29 October 2019 — Federal Republic of Germany v SpaceNet AG Case C-229/23, HYA and Others: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Sofiyski gradski sad (Bulgaria) lodged on 12 April 2023 — Criminal proceedings against SS, IP, ZI, DD, HYA recital 11 article 15 paragraph 1 Case C-794/19: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesverwaltungsgericht (Germany) lodged on 29 October 2019 — Federal Republic of Germany v Telekom Deutschland GmbH Case C-548/21: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Landesverwaltungsgericht Tirol (Austria) lodged on 6 September 2021 — C.G. v Bezirkshauptmannschaft Landeck article 15 paragraph 1 article 5 Legal basis Treaty establishing the European Community (Amsterdam consolidated version) Part Three: Community policies Title VI: Common rules on competition, taxation and approximation of laws Chapter 3: Approximation of laws Article 95 Article 100a - EC Treaty (Maastricht consolidated version) Treaty establishing the European Community (Amsterdam consolidated version) Part Five: Institutions of the Community Title I: Provisions governing the institutions Chapter 2: Provisions common to several institutions Article 251 Article 189b - EC Treaty (Maastricht consolidated version) EuroVoc Vocabulary General Approximation of laws Regulation of telecommunications Personal data Internal market - Principles Consumer protection Telecommunications Approximation of laws Information technology, telecommunications and data-processing Data protection Electronic equipment Electronic mail Protection of privacy Transmission network