EU Aims to Clarify Legal Status of IP Addresses

Europe’s top data protection officials are working to clarify a grey area of internet law: the legal status of an IP (Internet Protocol) address. The question of whether an IP address should be considered private data occupied much time at a hearing earlier this week at the European Parliament regarding Google’s planned acquisition of DoubleClick. If a person can be identified by an IP address, then the address is private, said Peter Schaar, the German data protection commissioner and chairman of the Europe-wide privacy group, the Article 29 Committee