Less is more: Data Minimisation as a Cornerstone of individual Freedoms in digital strategic Litigation

On 9 January 2025 the First Chamber of the Court of Justice (the ʻCourtʼ) delivered a preliminary ruling upon request of the French Conseil d’Etat in a dispute between the association Mousse (‘les justiciers LGBT+’) against the Commission nationale de l’informatique et des libertés (CNIL) and SNCF Connect: France’s data protection authority, and the national railway company (Mousse, C-394/23). This case displays strategic litigation for fundamental rights in the digital sphere. It concerns the compulsory choice between ‘Madame’ and ‘Monsieur’ on SNCF’s website, alleged to be discriminatory. The ruling follows another example of digital strategic litigation: Schrems v. Meta Platforms Ireland (C-446/21, ‘Communication de données au grand public’), whose judgment was delivered by the Fourth Chamber in October 2024. Both cases, if compared, show how the principle of data minimisation (Article 5(1)(c) GDPR) extends its impact both within and outside the field of privacy, providing ground for strategic litigation on fundamental rights.