The Supreme Court ruled that investigative authorities may not request email inbox content without court permission. This applies during criminal proceedings.
The decision was based on the case of Toomas Tamm, Küllike Namm, and Kalev Kangur. They were accused of fraud, but all courts found them innocent. The Security Police requested Tamm's email inbox content from Telia between 2015-2018.
The Supreme Court found that requesting Tamm's email inbox content violated the law. Therefore, it cannot be used as evidence. The prosecutor's office argued that the letters had reached the recipient. Defense attorneys, however, found that the letters were still in transit and required court permission to access. The Supreme Court agreed with the defense.
According to the Constitution, the secrecy of messages is protected. Exceptions are allowed only with court permission. The Supreme Court clarified that messages in transit are more strictly protected. This is correct because they are not under the control of either the sender or the recipient.
If an investigative authority accesses a letter through a service provider, this constitutes interference with communication. The prosecutor's office confirmed that Tamm's letter backups could not be influenced. Thus, the investigative authority gained access to the letters without court permission.
The Supreme Court also found that requesting the entire email inbox content was wrong. The request was not limited to the time of suspicion. The prosecutor's office could not explain why four years of letters were needed.
The Supreme Court noted that in certain cases, information may be collected with court permission. For example, through server searches. The law may also be used to control postal and telegraphic shipments.
The Supreme Court did not take a position on employer-owned emails. This was not the subject of this case.
According to the charges, Toomas Tamm, Küllike Namm, and Kalev Kangur attempted to deceive judges. They wanted illegal profit. However, all courts found them innocent.