We are emphasizing Runbox’ location in Norway as something that is important to you as an email user, and you may wonder why. This article will explain it all.
Summary
- All your Runbox email is privacy protected because our servers are located in Norway, and Runbox strictly adheres to the Norwegian privacy legislation.
- Runbox protects your data against disclosure with our procedure to require a Norwegian court order before any data can be disclosed.
- Any foreign nation requesting disclosure of data must send a formal request via diplomatic channels to Norwegian authorities, to which Runbox responds with a request for a court order.
- Norwegian surveillance authorities are not allowed to access transferred eletronic messages without a court order.
- Under Norwegian legislation, Runbox is ordinarily not required to retain any traffic logs, and is permitted to delete your data if you ask us to.
Norwegian privacy legislation and regulations
First of all, Norway has enacted strong legislation regulating the collection, storage, and processing of personal data in The Personal Data Act (in Norwegian: Lov om behandling av personopplysninger; Personopplysningsloven).This legislation implements the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which substantially strengthens the rights to privacy of individuals in the EEA.
The first version of The Personal Data Act was implemented as early as 1978. This was a result of the pioneering work provided by the Department of Private Law at the University of Oslo, where one of the first academic teams within IT and privacy worldwide was established in 1970.
Additionally, the Norwegian Data Protection Authority (Datatilsynet), an independent authority, facilitates protection of individuals from violation of their right to privacy through processing of their personal data. It also verifies that statutes and regulations which apply to the processing of personal data are complied with, and that errors or deficiencies are rectified.
Any complaint against decisions made by The Data Protection Authority may be reported to The Privacy Tribunal (Personvernnemda), another independent authority, for decision.
The Norwegian Criminal Procedure Act (Lov om rettergangsmåten i straffesaker; Straffeprosessloven) is an important law governing the seizure of objects or data when a criminal act has been reported to the police.
Another important law in this context is the Norwegian Penal Code (NPC, Lov om straff; Straffeloven) which states that it is illegal to access information systems or data unauthorized (NPC Chapter 21, § 201 – §211).
We must also mention Norwegian Law on Electronic Communications (Lov om elektronisk kommunikasjon; Ekomloven), which regulates telecommunications in Norway. This law contains rules for the interception of electronic communications and for the duration of storage of personal data.
Because Runbox is similar to an Internet service provider and not a telecommunications company, Runbox is NOT affected by this law. For instance, this means that Runbox is permitted to delete your email data upon your request at any time, and that we are not required to store any traffic logs.
The bottom line is that a request from Norwegian police authorities to disclose data from any Runbox account will be rejected by Runbox unless a Norwegian court has decided otherwise.
What does compliance with Norwegian privacy laws mean?
So what does Runbox’ compliance to Norwegian laws mean regarding your personal data when using Runbox, and the content of your emails stored on our servers?
Runbox does not collect any data about you except what is necessary to provide you with our services. This is in accordance with our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, which is compliant to The Personal Data Act. This paragraph states that personal details can only be collected and processed with consent from the registrant.
Similarly important is §11, stating that personal data must not be used for purposes inconsistent with the initial purpose of collection except with consent from the user.
Runbox will request a Norwegian court order pursuant to the Norwegian Criminal Procedure Act before disclosing information to the Norwegian Police Service.
What about requests from authorities outside Norway?
A request from foreign authorities or agencies regarding Runbox account details or user data has a long way to go before it reaches Runbox:
It will in general start with a legal request (letter rogatory) submitted through diplomatic channels to the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who sends it to the Attorney General at the Norwegian Office of the Prime Minister.
If appropriate, the Attorney General will forward the request to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security who in turn sends it to the appropriate police unit, for example the National Criminal Investigation Service, Norway (Den nasjonale enhet for bekjempelse av organisert og annen alvorlig kriminalitet; Kripos) or The Norwegian Police Security Service (Politiets sikkerhetstjeneste; PST) for independent investigation.
All requests will be evaluated with regards to Norwegian laws and regulations, and must be submitted to the Norwegian court system. If delays might impede the investigation an order from the prosecuting authorities may temporarily replace a court order, but the case must be submitted to the courts as soon as possible. Otherwise a request for a court order may submitted by Runbox before data can be disclosed. The Norwegian police authorities may then present Runbox with an order to disclose the requested information.
Norway has entered into agreements with some foreign nations to cooperate in criminal matters regarding disclosure of objects and data, that may simplify the procedure above:
Through the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters requests go directly to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, through the Schengen Agreement requests go to the public prosecutor in Norway, and between Nordic countries, requests go to central or local police (district chiefs of police). Requests from Canada and Thailand go directly to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security.
All other nations, the United States included, have to follow the general rule outlined above: Requests must be sent through diplomatic channels to the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
What about surveillance…
According to the laws mentioned above, the Norwegian police authorities can not execute communication control, for instance surveillance of electronic messages, without a valid court order. An independent tribunal, the Control Committee for Wiretapping (Kontrollutvalget for kommunikasjonskontroll) is established to control that the police’s use of wiretapping occurs within the framework of the law and that the use of such methods is as limited as possible.
This means that no surveillance of traffic to or from Runbox can occur unless a valid court order is presented. However, the regulation that governs wiretapping (Forskrift om kommunikasjonskontroll; Kommunikasjonskontrollforskriften [only available in Norwegian]) and the Control Committee for Wiretapping do not pertain to intelligence, which is the domain of The Norwegian Parliamentary Intelligence Oversight Committee (Stortingets kontrollutvalg for etterretnings-, overvåkings- og sikkerhetstjeneste), see below.
…and intelligence?
Let us examine the various Norwegian intelligence agencies and their mandates.
- The Norwegian Intelligence Service (Etterretningstjenesten; ETJ):
A body established in order to survey and monitor external threats to Norway and high-priority Norwegian interests. For that aim, the NIS is allowed, under strict parliamentary and judicial control, to order targeted collection and storage of cross-border electronic communication. - The Norwegian Police Security Service (Politiets sikkerhetstjeneste; PST):
Do NOT have any legal rights beyond the Norwegian Police Service, which is discussed above. - The Norwegian Defence Security Department (Forsvarets sikkerhetsavdeling, FSA):
Applies to military institutions only, and is not relevant for Runbox customers at all. - The National Security Authority (Nasjonal sikkerhetsmyndighet, NSM):
Is established to control governmental and civil institutions regarding security, and because Runbox does not provide services to such institutions, this authority is not relevant to Runbox or our customers. - Joint Counter-terrorism Center (Felles etterretning- og kontraterrorsenter, FEKTS)
A recently established department within PST staffed with people from PST and ETJ. FEKTS is a cooperation agency sharing information and analyzing terror threats against Norway. FEKTS is subject to the laws and regulations governing the activities of The Norwegian Police Security Service and the Norwegian Intelligence Service.
In order to monitor these agencies and ensure they are acting in accordance with laws and regulations and in as limited a way as possible, the Norwegian Parliament has established The Norwegian Parliamentary Intelligence Oversight Committee (Stortingets kontrollutvalg for etterretnings-, overvåkings- og sikkerhetstjeneste), and Control Committee for Wiretapping (Kontrollutvalget for kommunikasjonskontroll).
What is the conclusion of all this?
All your Runbox email stored on our servers is safe because Runbox is located in Norway. Runbox strictly adheres to the Norwegian Personal Data Act and the Norwegian Criminal Procedure Act, which is the main legislation governing our operations. This fact, along with our ethics and values, prevents us from doing anything unauthorized with your data.
Specifically, Runbox protects your data against disclosure requested by the authorities because we will request a court order from the Norwegian authorities before we disclose any data.
Norwegian authorities are not allowed to gather and utilize of data traffic without a valid court order. Norway has established independent agencies to ensure that these agencies follow the laws and regulations under which they operate. In addition, Norway is an open democracy with a critical and investigative press which readily publicizes any suspicion of breached laws and regulations.
Any foreign nation asking for data have to send a formal request according to established protocols and strict rules. And any such legal request will be scrutinized by Norwegian judicial authorities, and only in cases where Norwegian law is breached could a request result in an ordered seizure which is necessary to obtain data from Runbox.
In short, no authority or agency can monitor and utilize Runbox’ data or traffic without a court order, which can only be issued when there is evidence of criminal activity in violation of Norwegian penal code or evidence of threats to Norway and high-priority Norwegian interests..
Additional protection
Runbox customers automatically have an advantage by storing their email in Norway, and you can add another layer of protection by encrypting your communication with Runbox.
To protect your privacy even further, Runbox does NOT use Google Analytics or any other third-party tracking of our customers’ usage. We never use data or traffic information for any other purpose than anonymous statistics in order to improve our services and our system’s performance. Our service is absolutely ad-free, and we do not share or sell your personal details to anyone.
The combination of the strict Norwegian legal environment, our solid IT infrastructure, Runbox’ ethics and Privacy Policy, and the technology Runbox provides, means that Runbox provides a service that is uniquely private and secure.
For more information about the privacy and security of Runbox’ services, please see the following links — and feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns.