13 February 2020
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the UK's policy of indefinite retentiono of DNA data is unlawful.
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"UK police who indefinitely retained in their records the DNA profile of a man convicted of drink-driving breached his human rights, Strasbourg judges have ruled.
The ruling by the European court of human rights (ECHR) over Fergus Gaughran’s claim presents a significant challenge for police data storage practices in the UK.
Gaughran, 47, from Newry, had complained that the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s continued retention of his DNA profile (the digital record of his DNA sample), fingerprints and a photograph was a breach of his privacy."
Police keeping drink-driver's DNA breached his rights, judges rule (The Guardian, link)
See the judgment: Case of Gaughran v the United Kingdom (application no. 45245/15, pdf) and: Information note (pdf)
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