---
title: "Case C-511/18: judgment of 6 October 2020"
canonical: "https://dposchool.com/gdpr/case/c-511-18"
source: "https://curia.europa.eu/juris/liste.jsf?num=C-511/18&language=en"
source_note: "Only the judgment as published by the Court of Justice is authoritative."
text_as_of: "2026-10-28"
last_reviewed: "2026-10-29"
language: "en"
publisher: "DPO School"
---

Court of Justice judgment · Case C-511/18

# La Quadrature du Net and Others v Premier ministre and Others (joined cases C-511/18, C-512/18 and C-520/18)

[Reviewed by Sergio Maldonado Elvira on 29 October 2026](https://dposchool.com/gdpr/about#review)

- **Case:** C-511/18
- **Court:** Court of Justice
- **Date of judgment:** 6 October 2020
- **ECLI:** ECLI:EU:C:2020:791
- **Instrument:** Mainly the ePrivacy Directive 2002/58; the GDPR is relied on only for one question
- **Provisions:** [Article 23(1)](https://dposchool.com/gdpr/article/23#1)

Listed under "Related (earlier law or other instruments)": this judgment concerns earlier law or another instrument, not the GDPR alone.

## Holding (summary, not the official text)

National laws may not require general and indiscriminate retention of traffic and location data as a preventive measure, subject to narrow exceptions (national security threats, IP addresses, civil identity, expedited retention under judicial control).

## Official source

- [Case C-511/18 on CURIA](https://curia.europa.eu/juris/liste.jsf?num=C-511/18&language=en)
- [Judgment on EUR-Lex (CELEX 62018CJ0511)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:62018CJ0511)

Checked against the official source on 28 October 2026.

Only the judgment as published by the Court of Justice is authoritative. This is reference material, not legal advice.

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