Estonian Justice Minister Pakosta sends telecoms data retention bill to consultation

Justice Minister Liisa Pakosta is sending a draft law on telecommunications data collection to inter-ministerial consultation on Friday. The move comes as current Estonian legislation requiring telecom companies to retain data for one year conflicts with EU law.

Estonian Justice Minister [Liisa Pakosta](/politicians/liisa-pakosta) is sending a new legislative draft to inter-ministerial consultation on Friday, aiming to bring Estonia's telecommunications data retention rules into compliance with European Union law.

Under the current Estonian legal framework, telecommunications companies are required to store communications metadata for a period of one year. However, this blanket data retention and access regime has been found to be incompatible with EU law, prompting the need for legislative reform.

The new draft law seeks to establish a revised framework for how communications data is collected, stored, and accessed by authorities. The proposal will now undergo the standard consultation process, during which government ministries and other stakeholders will have the opportunity to provide feedback before the bill advances further through the legislative process.

The move reflects broader pressure across EU member states to align national surveillance and data retention practices with rulings from the Court of Justice of the European Union, which has repeatedly restricted mass data retention schemes as violations of privacy rights under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.