Controversial issue: The debate over privacy versus security took on an extra dimension after Snowden leaked details of mass spying in 2013.
BRUSSELS: The mass retention of data is illegal, the European Union's highest court said on Wednesday, dealing a blow to Britain's newly passed surveillance law and signalling that security concerns do not justify excessive privacy infringements.
The Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) said its ruling was based on the view that holding traffic and location data en masse allowed "very precise conclusions to be drawn concerning the private lives of the persons whose data has been retained".
