EU privacy watchdogs show red card to snooping proposals

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 11th Nov 2004

EU data protection supervisors have condemned a proposal by 4 European governments including the UK for mandatory Europe-wide indiscriminate monitoring of everybody's telephone and mobile calls, text messages, faxes, emails and internet use.

London MEP Baroness Sarah Ludford, Liberal Democrat European justice spokeswoman, has welcomed the move, saying:

"David Blunkett is trying to export to European level his controversial and mainly unsuccessful attempts to get UK telecoms companies and ISPs voluntarily to hand over data, and thus use a European back door to bring it in compulsorily."

"But he and his interior minister colleagues must heed this red card from Europe's privacy watchdogs, who say this is a disproportionate measure in a democratic society which breaches the European Convention on Human Rights."

The governments of the UK, France, Ireland and Spain called for an EU decision obliging 'traffic data retention', the storage of details of all electronic communications, for a period of 12 - 36 months. They claim this is necessary for prevention, investigation, detection and prosecution of crime, including terrorism. The latest Dutch Presidency draft specifies 12 months, but has no rules on access, supervision or correction of data.

Sarah Ludford added:

"The Article 29 committee has in essence confirmed that these carelessly drafted proposals drive a coach and horses through a 2002 EU law guaranteeing individuals that the privacy of their telecoms use would not be invaded."

"MEPs, civil liberties NGOs and telecoms firms must unite in subjecting to stringent examination the claims of law enforcement agencies that this costly and invasive blanket snooping is essential to security."

Baroness Ludford added that she was hopeful that the European Commission would come out with a formal proposal under European Community law, with much tighter scope and stronger privacy guarantees, and with the European Parliament having co-decision powers jointly with the EU Council of Ministers.

Note: The 'Article 29 Working Party' of national data protection supervisors plus the European Data Protection Supervisor was established by the basic 1995 EU data protection law, Directive 95/46. It includes the UK Information Commissioner Richard Thomas.