EU top court rules website operators can store visitors’ IP addresses News
EU top court rules website operators can store visitors’ IP addresses

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) [official website] ruled [judgment] Wednesday that a website operator is legally permitted to store visitors’ Internet protocol addresses (IP addresses) because they have a legitimate interest in protecting themselves against cyber attacks. Under EU law, personal information can be processed [EU press release] if it is necessary to accomplish a legitimate objective and if it does not override the person’s fundamental freedoms. The ruling is also applicable to some dynamic IP addresses, which are IP addresses that change with every change in Internet connection. The court found that a dynamic IP address is personal data if the website operator is also able to obtain additional information from the visitor through the internet service provider.

Surveillance and data collection have been a worldwide topic of discussion, particularly after Edward Snowden leaked [JURIST report] top-secret US NSA documents in 2013. In December China passed a new anti-terrorism law [JURIST report] that requires technology companies to provide information to the government obtained from their products and make information systems “secure and controllable.” Last October the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit denied [JURIST report] a motion by the American Civil Liberties Union to halt the bulk collection of phone records by the NSA. The court ruled that Congress intended for the agency to continue its data collection over the transition period, and the new legislation was to take effect November 29. In August 2015 the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reversed [JURIST report] a ruling that had blocked the NSA from obtaining call detail records from US citizens. In July 2015, MIT scientists published [JURIST report] a paper criticizing the US and UK governments for seeking the redesign of Internet systems to allow governments to access information even if encrypted.

THIS DAY @ LAW

First impeachment trial began in US Senate

On December 17, 1798, the US Senate began its first impeachment trial. Senator William Blount of Tennessee, a land speculator, was accused of plotting with England to wrest control of Florida from Spain. The Senate ultimately dismissed the charges for lack of jurisdiction—and, perhaps incidentally, lack of Blount, who had gone to Tennessee and had refused to return to the Senate for trial. Read more on the trial of William Blount.

Simon Bolivar dies

On December 17, 1830, South American revolutionary Simon Bolivar died in Colombia. During his lifetime, Bolivar led successful revolutions against Spanish colonial rule throughout South America. His efforts led to the independence of the modern-day nations of Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Panama, Ecuador and Bolivia, a nation named in his honor.