4 ms·

This is a common misconception. IP addresses are only considered PII if you are in the position of being able to decode them to an identity. An anonymous versio

This is a common misconception. IP addresses are only considered PII if you are in the position of being able to decode them to an identity. An anonymous version checking service obviously does not count.

davidmurdoch 4y ago
Playing devils advocate here, but one interpretation of the law is that if any script that obtains the IP addresses could reverse it to an identity, then you are in violation.
- cmeacham98 4y ago
  Sure, and "one interpretation" of the sky is that it is purple. Or instead of making random interpretations up, we could look at actual cases like Breyer v. Germany, and see how the laws are interpreted in real life.
  - davidmurdoch 4y ago
    And I could interpret your text as Klingon. But that's not reasonable. My interpretation above was reasonable. An IP address alone may not reveal who had visited a site. However, Internet Service Providers have additional data that can link IP addresses to individual people. Although it's unlikely that the two data sets will ever be matched up, it is possible. So IP addresses must be treated as personal data.
    - cmeacham98 4y ago
      Again, as I have said multiple times in this thread existing EU case law has made it clear IPs are only PII if and ONLY if you are able to do the conversion yourself (or give it to someone who can). Storing IPs in your web server logs is for an anonymous version checker is totally ok (as long as you aren't an ISP or someone who can do the conversion). You can make up your own interpretations of the law as much as you want, but in real life the interpretation from the CJEU (for US readers like me, the EU's equivalent of the Supreme Court) is the one that matters.
tejado 4y ago
Sure the IP is PII because you are not allowed to publish it as others could relate the IP to the identity. But as others already said: if you don’t store the IP (eg in logs) it should be fine.
- cmeacham98 4y ago
  You could store the IPs in logs until the heat death of the universe and it would be fine, as long as you aren't able to translate it to an indentity (or give it to someone who can). The point of my comment is that an IP is only considered PII when possessed by someone who can do the conversion.

davidmurdoch 4y ago

Playing devils advocate here, but one interpretation of the law is that if any script that obtains the IP addresses could reverse it to an identity, then you are in violation.

cmeacham98 4y ago
Sure, and "one interpretation" of the sky is that it is purple. Or instead of making random interpretations up, we could look at actual cases like Breyer v. Germany, and see how the laws are interpreted in real life.
- davidmurdoch 4y ago
  And I could interpret your text as Klingon. But that's not reasonable. My interpretation above was reasonable. An IP address alone may not reveal who had visited a site. However, Internet Service Providers have additional data that can link IP addresses to individual people. Although it's unlikely that the two data sets will ever be matched up, it is possible. So IP addresses must be treated as personal data.
  - cmeacham98 4y ago
    Again, as I have said multiple times in this thread existing EU case law has made it clear IPs are only PII if and ONLY if you are able to do the conversion yourself (or give it to someone who can). Storing IPs in your web server logs is for an anonymous version checker is totally ok (as long as you aren't an ISP or someone who can do the conversion). You can make up your own interpretations of the law as much as you want, but in real life the interpretation from the CJEU (for US readers like me, the EU's equivalent of the Supreme Court) is the one that matters.

tejado 4y ago

Sure the IP is PII because you are not allowed to publish it as others could relate the IP to the identity. But as others already said: if you don’t store the IP (eg in logs) it should be fine.

cmeacham98 4y ago
You could store the IPs in logs until the heat death of the universe and it would be fine, as long as you aren't able to translate it to an indentity (or give it to someone who can). The point of my comment is that an IP is only considered PII when possessed by someone who can do the conversion.