these developments, expanding the scope of Article 8 protection to include
“e-mail communications” (see Weber, §77).
57.
Citizens of the Council of Europe states live major portions of their lives
online. We use the internet to impart ideas, conduct research, explore our
sexuality, seek medical advice and treatment, correspond with lawyers,
communicate with loved ones and express our political and personal views.
We also use the internet to conduct many of our daily activities, such as
keeping records, arranging travel and conducting financial transactions.
Much of this activity is conducted on mobile digital devices, which are
seamlessly integrated into our personal and professional lives. They have
replaced and consolidated our fixed-line telephones, filing cabinets,
wallets, private diaries, photo albums and address books.
58.
The internet has also enabled the creation of greater quantities of
personal data about our communications, known as communications data
or metadata. Communications data is information about a communication,
which may include the sender and recipient, the date and location from
where it was sent, and the type of device used to send it.
59.
Communications data is the digital equivalent of having a private
investigator trailing a targeted individual at all times, recording where
they go and with whom they speak. Communications data will reveal web
browsing activities, which might reveal medical conditions, religious
viewpoints or political affiliations. Items purchased, news sites visited,
forums joined, books read, movies watched and games played – each of
these pieces of communications data gives an insight into a person. Mobile
phones continuously generate communications data as they stay in contact
with the mobile network, producing a constant record of the location of the
phone (and therefore its user). Communications data produces an
intrusive, deep and comprehensive view into a person’s private life,
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