For many computer scientists, the law is often viewed as a hindrance to technological developments. This view may be contrasted to that of the researchers within the Interdisciplinary Centre for Law & ICT (ICRI), who view law as an enabler for legally compliant technological developments.

The objective of this talk is to present the general framework that has to be respected at European level, when processing of personal data is taking place during the development of an application or a system.

The presentation is structured in two parts, and commences with a short presentation of the legal framework on privacy and data protection, mainly in the field of electronic communications. Our attention will mainly focus on the basic principles that have to be respected, the obligations of the developer of the system in order to follow the "privacy and security by design" model and the rights of the data subject. The second part of the presentation focuses on the recent European legislation on the retention of traffic and location data, and in doing so, articulates issues of major importance to providers of electronic communications and networks.