The European Parliament is on the verge of adopting a law that would extend the electronic surveillance powers of member states.
The Parliament has voted to allow member states to ignore data protection regulations for security reasons. These data protection rules state that communications data must not be kept for longer than is needed for billing purposes.
The new law would give police new powers to store communications for investigation purposes for months or even years. The text of the proposed EU Telecommunications Directive says this must be a “necessary, appropriate and proportionate measure within a democratic society”. Any data retention must also respect the European Convention of Human Rights.
Marco Cappato, the Italian MEP who is guiding the directive through the parliament, has admitted that the new provisions could result in large-scale retention of data for many years.
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“Fundamental question”
The European Parliament voted in the second reading of the EU Directive Concerning the Protection of Personal Data in Electronic Communications on Thursday.
The law requires final approval but a parliamentary spokeswoman told New Scientist that this is considered a “formality” because the issue has been widely debated already.
Some Members of the European Parliament are strongly opposed to the new powers. The outspoken German left-wing MEP Ilka Schroeder said in a statement: “From today on, the fundamental right to privacy is questioned for everyone using electronic means of communication. Western democracies surpass the surveillance achievement of the Eastern Germany’s former Stasi by far.”
Yaman Akdeniz, director of Cyber Rights & Cyber Liberties adds: “The danger is that the EU will be encouraging data retention provisions. It would provide the possibility for members to exploit these provisions.”
The same bill would prohibit the use of web site “cookies” without prior consent and outlaw unsolicited bulk email, or “spam”.
