Tech & Rights

EU-Wide Mass Surveillance to Be Challenged at the CJEU

Under a European Directive, EU governments collect sensitive data of air passengers. Liberties member the Society for Civil Rights is taking legal action against this mass surveillance, which has now reached the Court of Justice of the European Union.

by Society for Civil Rights
Flickr / Himash De Silva

Since May 2018, airlines in EU member states have been obliged to pass data on their passengers to government agencies under the Passenger Name Record (PNR) Directive.

In 2019, the Society for Civil Rights (GFF), together with epicenter.works, took legal action against the PNR Directive in the German and Austrian courts. GFF argues that the PNR Directive violates the right to the protection of personal data and the right to respect for private and family life.

In January 2020, the NoPNR campaign reached an important milestone: the District Court of Cologne, Germany, referred the case to the CJEU due to its evident implications for EU law. On 26 August 2020, the GFF submitted a detailed opinion to the ECJ on this referral, explaining why it considers the Directive to be contrary to fundamental rights.

You can find further information on the NoPNR campaign at www.nopnr.eu.

The basic funding for the project is provided by the Digital Freedom Fund.

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