IP Address and Interception of Communications

The Superior Court of Justice of the City of Buenos Aires unanimously revoked the Court's decision in which it declared the nullity of the reports requested by the prosecutor in the "A, C s / Infr. article 128.2, paragraph 2°, CP” case. This case - which investigates crimes against sexual integrity - concerns the identification of the holders of certain IP addresses related to the crime under investigation. This information was contributed to the investigation by the FBI and the Court revoked it for “hav[ing] been obtained without judicial authorization, alleging that the request for the reports ‘should be equated with a telephone interception’".

In response to a recourse filed by the Public Prosecutor's Office, The Superior Court of Justice of the City of Buenos Aires highlighted that "The magistrates omitted to explain why, under the light of the individual's expectation of privacy, the content and traffic data of a communication should be equated to the mere identification of a user”.

With respect to the right to privacy and the protection of personal data, the decision emphasized that "the law provides that certain information could be validly gathered without the need of the data subject’s consent, in exercise of proper functions of the powers of the State and also when the data is limited to name, ID number and address."

As a consequence, the Superior Court of Justice upheld that the requirements that authorize the interception of communications are not applicable when requesting the identification of an IP address.