The English High Court has declared that UK legislation which expanded government powers to require communication providers to retain communication traffic data is incompatible with human rights, and is unlawful.

The legislation is seen by the government as a key power to ensure that such data is accessible by law enforcement and security services to investigate serious crime and issues of national security.

The Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act 2014 (DRIPA) reinstated the requirements that existed in the UK under the Data Retention (EC Directive) Regulations 2009 which had to be replaced after the European Court of Justice in Digital Rights Ireland declared the data retention provisions of the Data Retention Directive (2006/24/EC) (which the 2009 Regulations implemented) invalid in April 2014.