EU rules phone data collection infringes on fundamental human rights

The European Union's top court has reportedly repealed a ruling that required European telecoms companies to store their customers' phone records on file for up to two years.

According to The Verge, the EU's Court of Justice decreed that the Data Retention Directive, originally introduced after terrorist bombings in London and Madrid in 2006, infringed on fundamental human rights and "exceeded the limits" of proportionality.

Under the directive, telecom companies in Europe were forced to retain data that showed the details of the people conversing over the telephone and the frequency of their interaction.

However, the companies were not allowed to retrieve the content of the messages or phone calls made by them.

The Court said in a statement that by requiring the retention of those data and by allowing the competent national authorities to access those data, the directive interferes in a particularly serious manner with the fundamental rights to respect for private life and to the protection of personal data.