Swedish ISP Bahnhof has long been a supporter of keeping its customers’ data private. Five years ago, we wrote about its decision to delete user log files to avoid having to rat out users under Sweden’s draconian IPRED law which required ISPs to hand over info on users accused of copyright infringement. However, various data retention laws were put in place to stop that sort of thing two years ago.
The Swedish authorities won’t take action against an ISP that erased all retained communications metadata, even though there is still a law in place compelling providers to retain such data, the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (PTS) said Friday. Swedish ISP Bahnhof decided earlier this week to delete retained records and stop collecting data about its customers’ communications in the wake of a ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). On Tuesday, the court invalidated the EU’s Data Retention Directive that requires telecommunications and Internet providers to retain their customer’s location and traffic data for investigatory purposes. It found that the directive seriously interferes with fundamental privacy rights. Sweden, like other EU member states, has transposed the directive into national law.
