Longstanding CCPC dawn raid practice to copy electronic data (including entire email accounts) for later off-site review by investigators is unlawful according to a recent ruling of the Irish Competition Court. Bulk copying of e-files “will almost certainly, perhaps inevitably” capture material outside the scope of any investigation, the court found. Accordingly, CCPC search of that material would be “an entirely unwarranted – not to mention egregious – transgression of the right to privacy” in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights (and, for that matter, the Irish Constitution).
What does this mean for CCPC investigations? One possibility may be longer searches, to allow on-site sifting of digital files, à la DG Comp dawn raids. But the court’s clear and repeat identification of the search of emails as the unlawful privacy intrusion (rather than seizure or copying by the CCPC, oddly considered lawful by the court) suggests even on-site e-searching may be circumspect. As if to emphasise the point, the court proposes “an entirely reasonable and workable solution” that is “perfectly sensible and practically operable”: independent third-party assessment of e-documents for relevance to the investigation.
Read the full article here: To Seize but Not Search – Key CCPC Investigation Technique Violates Privacy Rights, Irish Competition Court Holds