Polish police accessed citizens’ phone data over 2 million times without warrants in 2024, report finds
Polish security services and police accessed citizens’ phone records more than 2 million times in 2024 without court approval, Gazeta Wyborcza reports – in apparent breach of EU privacy laws and human rights rulings.
Polish authorities’ unchecked access to phone data over two million times in 2024 highlights a stark clash between national surveillance practicies and EU human rights laws.Photo: Soheb Zaidi/Unsplash.com/CC0
According to the investigation by the Polish daily, law enforcement officers – including regular police – are able to obtain citizens’ phone records without a warrant, court order, or external oversight.
These records include data on who individuals called or texted, as well as the locations where their phones were active over the past 12 months.
This level of warrantless surveillance directly contradicts European Union law. The European Court of Justice has previously ruled that such sweeping access violates the European Convention on Human Rights and established EU data protection standards.
Citing figures from the Ministry of Justice, Gazeta Wyborcza revealed that authorities used these powers more than 2 million times in 2024 – the highest annual total in the eight years since the current rules came into force.
Former Justice Minister Adam Bodnar had launched a review of the practice. A report signed by him confirmed that both the Justice Ministry and the Ministry of the Interior had begun work on aligning Poland’s surveillance policies with EU court rulings. The future of those reforms now lies with his successor – Waldemar Żurek.
(mp)
Source: wyborcza.biz
