Device search on a mobile phone

Court of Justice of the European Union: Examining all content of a mobile phone, i.e., a device search, requires prior authorization from a court or an independent administrative authority to the police.

The judgment delivered by the Court of Justice of the European Union on October 4, 2024, in an Austrian case causes considerable changes to Finnish practice.

Austrian police seized a person's mobile phone when they received a package containing 85 grams of cannabis. The police attempted unsuccessfully to unlock the mobile phone to gain access to its data. The police did not have authorization from the prosecution authority or a court, they did not document these unlocking attempts, and they did not inform the person concerned about them. The person concerned challenged the seizure of their mobile phone in an Austrian court. They only learned about the attempts to unlock the mobile phone during this procedure. The Austrian court inquires of the Court of Justice of the European Union whether Austrian legislation, which according to it permits the police to proceed in this manner, is compatible with EU law. It notes that the maximum penalty for the offense of which the person concerned is accused is one year's imprisonment, so it is a minor offense.

Markku Fredman has written more extensively on the subject on the Procedural Law Blog.