Data Retention Provisions "Dangerous and Premature"

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Thu 30th May 2002

Baroness Sarah Ludford, Lib Dem spokeswoman on justice & home affairs in the European Parliament, fears that aspects of the telecoms data privacy directive that will be adopted in the European Parliament this week could have worrying human rights implications.

She feels that the position on 'data retention' agreed by the two largest groups in the European Parliament, the Conservatives and the Socialists, will set a dangerous precedent and will pre-empt the ability of national parliaments to determine their own policies on this subject.

"It is dangerous and premature to endorse a blanket EU regime of data retention as part of this directive. We accept that there is a need to equip law enforcement authorities with the tools to gain evidence to incriminate major law-breakers and terrorists, but it is inappropriate to grant sweeping data retention powers as part of a directive that is essentially concerned with regulating the duties of telecoms companies and internet service providers (ISPs) to their subscribers."

"Progress on this issue must be made in a manner which carefully balances the civil liberties implications - the ability to map everyone's daily life and contacts - and law enforcement needs. Harmonisation could be sought later at EU level, through a specific instrument in the context of cross-border policing and anti-terrorism."

Baroness Ludford also criticised the two big groups, the Conservatives and Socialists, for colluding with the Council, marginalizing the rapporteur Marco Cappato and ignoring the outcome of the vote in the Citizens' Rights Committee, in order to steam-roller through an outcome on this, as well as other matters such as unsolicited emails.

The Parliament will vote on Thursday May 30th on the Second reading of the telecoms data privacy Directive (rapporteur Marco Cappato), final part of a jigsaw of telecoms measures to open up the EU single market. This new Directive harmonises rules on privacy, including matters such as unsolicited emails and 'cookies'.