Data retention deal 'a vast con-trick'

2.25.18pm GMT Tue 13th Dec 2005

The deal done by a majority in the EU Council of Ministers with Conservative and Socialist MEPs on data retention - storage of everyone's phone, email and internet records - is disproportionate and excessive, according to Liberal Democrat European justice spokeswoman Sarah Ludford. She says:

"If the European Parliament accepts this deal on a rushed and political measure, it will have fallen victim to a vast con-trick. MEPs can give up any pretence to care about either civil liberties or European business competitiveness."

"The agreement reached in the Civil Liberties committee represented a reasonable and proportionate response to the demand for new tools to fight terrorism. The alternative and underhand deal is a green light for fishing expeditions, mass profiling and gross invasions of privacy of innocent citizens. Real terrorists will escape tracking, by using pay-as-you-go!"

"The loud calls by Blair and Barroso for European hi-tech innovation ring hollow in the light of the huge cost burden and service constraints that interior ministers are imposing without compensation on telecoms and internet operators. The requirement to handle up to 50 times more data volume and make more records than at present will penalise all customers."

"This directive is a prime example of 'Euro-wash' policy-laundering. The majority of EU states, including the UK, have no mandatory data retention at present, even for law enforcement purposes. But if passed as the Council wants, this directive gives power not only to order storage for 2 years, but a pretext to 'gold-plate' it by upping that limit, widening the scope of data stored and allowing access to any Tom, Dick or Harry."