WhizzBang urges EU to reject mass data retention: privacy & rule of law at stake
Brussels / Aachen / Frankfurt (Oder) – WhizzBang, a pan-European civil society organisation committed to expats’ rights, today expresses strong support for the joint civil society response submitted by European Digital Rights (EDRi) and allied organisations to the European Commission’s call for evidence on data retention. We stand alongside EDRi, Chaos Computer Club, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and La Quadrature du Net in calling for an end to general, indiscriminate requirements forcing service providers to retain traffic and location data. We urge EU institutions and Member States to bring their laws into full compliance with the rulings of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and with fundamental rights obligations.
This issue is of particular urgency for expatriates who—due to their transnational lifestyles—are often subject to multiple infringements by several government entities. Such practices pose a grave risk to the basic liberties of all EU citizens.
Key concerns:
• Mass surveillance risks
Forcing electronic communications service providers to keep large volumes of user data—beyond what is needed for billing or basic service provision—amounts to mass surveillance. Such retention not only threatens privacy and data protection, but undercuts other essential rights: free speech, assembly, a fair trial, and more. 
• Rule of law crisis in EU Member States
Despite multiple CJEU judgments (e.g. since 2014) declaring general, blanket data retention incompatible with EU law, many Member States have not repealed or sufficiently reformed national laws that still require overbroad retention. WhizzBang echoes EDRi in describing this legal misalignment as a serious and ongoing rule of law problem. 
• Lack of evidence of necessity
There is, to date, no solid evidence that general and indiscriminate data retention actually improves crime detection or prosecution rates. WhizzBang supports EDRi’s view that the European Commission must demand empirical proof that such sweeping measures are indeed necessary—and must consider less invasive alternatives. 
• Alternatives exist
Measures like “quick-freeze” or preservation orders (requests targeted to specific investigations) are far less intrusive, and can be effective without keeping everyone’s data indefinitely. WhizzBang agrees with EDRi that these should be prioritised. 
• Threats to online anonymity and encrypted services
Extending data retention obligations to number-independent communication services (“OTTs”), or requiring retention of metadata for services built to respect privacy (e.g. encrypted messaging, sealed sender, etc.), threatens anonymity, user trust, and technical security. WhizzBang supports EDRi in warning that forcing these providers to compromise security or privacy undermines democratic values. 
WhizzBang’s recommendations:
WhizzBang urges the European Commission, the European Parliament, and all EU Member States to:
- Comply with CJEU rulings by repealing or amending any national data retention laws that require general or indiscriminate retention of traffic or location data beyond what is necessary under EU fundamental rights law.
- Reject proposals for new EU-wide blanket retention obligations, especially for all service providers including OTTs.
- Mandate strong safeguards wherever any data retention or access is permitted: prior judicial authorisation, strict definitions of scope, minimal data collection, strong separation and anonymisation, limits on retention duration.
- Prioritise less intrusive tools, such as quick-freeze / preservation orders, rather than broad, mandatory retention.
- Require evidence-based policymaking, including independent studies demonstrating necessity, proportionality, and effectiveness of any proposed retention regime.
WhizzBang’s message to the public:
Your data is precious. What you do online, who you talk to, where you go—all of that can reveal intimate things about your life. WhizzBang believes you have a right to privacy and safety online. Laws that force companies to store your digital trail forever risk not only your personal freedom, but the health of democracy itself. We call on everyone who values fundamental rights to make their voices heard: demand that European lawmakers protect privacy, not erode it.
Iwona Szczewblewski
WhizzBang AISBL