Télefonica opposed the claim with the argument that according to the LSSI (Law for Telecommunications Societies), the communication of personal data is only permitted in the line of a criminal investigation or for reasons of public security and national defence issues, and not for civil claims or preparation of same.
For that reason the commercial court of Madrid asked for a reference for a preliminary ruling of the European Court of Justice, who has now determined that IP addresses are not to be provided as they are considered personal data. Furthermore it ruled that the European Union member states have the duty to guarantee their confidentiality regardless of the reason for the data transfer, only allowing exceptions for national defence, public security or the investigation of crimes.
The decision is available at:
For more information, please contact Eric Jordi Cubells: [email protected]