French cassation court rejects Sky ECC challenges on location data and mass surveillance
On 7 January 2025 the Cour de cassation rejected an appeal seeking annulment of Sky ECC case documents. Defence arguments included location data without separate authorisation and the scale of interception.
The judgment is numbered 24-81.941, ECLI:FR:CCASS:2025:CR00042. It arose from a French investigation involving organised drug importation and money laundering. The accused sought annulment of investigative documents; this was not a final decision on guilt.
On location data, the highest criminal court held that the statutory data-capture power could encompass such information in the examined data flows. Separate geolocation authorisation was unnecessary in the circumstances discussed. It therefore rejected this specific annulment argument.
The claim that interception across Sky ECC amounted to prohibited mass surveillance also failed. The judgment addresses, among other points, that an accused cannot automatically litigate the privacy interests of all other users. The appeal was dismissed.
