‘Privacy Spring’ or ‘Privacy Winter’? The CJEU’s Approach to the Digitalisation of Migration Management

Since the past years, the CJEU has upheld the fundamental rights to privacy and personal data protection by construing a strong human rights shield in the digital age. In a series of landmark judgments the Court has imposed significant limits to surveillance practices, particularly in the context of processing of telecommunications metadata. A field of increasing interest is the proliferation of legal instruments governing personal data processing for migration-related purposes. Though the relevant case law in this field remains scarce, it seems that the CJEU’s approach to the digitalisation of migration management deviates from its approach towards the processing of personal data in other contexts, by giving priority to the Member States’ security prerogatives over the fundamental rights of third-country nationals. This contribution will critically evaluate the existing case law and analyse the paradox of securitisation of migration; the application of security methods, such as increased surveillance, on different groups of third-country nationals, without the corresponding privacy standards.