Data retention deal will erode citizens' trust

3.34.58pm GMT Wed 14th Dec 2005

The vote by a majority of Euro-MPs to accept a deal with the EU Council of Ministers on excessive data retention (storage of phone, email and internet records) will erode the trust of European citizens by sacrificing their rights to privacy, according to Liberal Democrat European justice spokeswoman Sarah Ludford. She says:

"MEPs should have backed the Civil Liberties committee line which gave law enforcement an adequate new power to fight terrorism and other serious crime. The Council version backed by Conservatives and Labour is instead a green light for mass surveillance, fishing expeditions and profiling".

"While real terrorists escape detection by using foreign internet service providers like hotmail and yahoo, internet cafes and pay-as-you-go phones, ordinary citizens could find details of their movements, acquaintances and favourite websites circulating in Whitehall."

"Customers may see prices rise as telecoms companies and ISPs have to bear the huge cost burden for data storage and retrieval that the Home Secretary and his fellow interior ministers are imposing without obligatory compensation. This will hit small ISPs especially hard."

"This directive is a prime example of 'Euro-wash' policy-laundering. Not only does it impose a mandatory data retention obligation on the majority of EU states, including the UK, which have none at present. It also permits 'gold-plating', for storage time limits way beyond 2 years, keeping even more data and allowing access to any government department or private firm."

Notes

Sarah Ludford MEP gave a speech to the European Parliament on this issue which can be read at http://www.sarahludfordmep.org.uk/speeches/108.html