European Parliament asked to vote against data retention

The Parliament’s vote on a proposed Directive on the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector is scheduled for 29th May. Among the issues in the draft Directive is data retention and related obligations, options and limitations for Member States.

Controversy surrounds how long personal data can or should be held by communications service providers, such as ISPs and telcos, and for what purposes.

The open letter, signed by the Electronic Privacy Information Center, Statewatch, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, LIBERTY and others, recommends that MEPs do not vote for any amendment to the proposed Directive that would leave Member States free to decide on the issue of data retention.

The letter states:

"We believe that data retention of communications by law enforcement authorities should only be employed in exceptional cases. It should be authorised only by the judicial or other competent authorities on a case-by-case basis. When permitted, data retention must be a necessary, appropriate, proportionate and temporary measure, in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights, the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights, and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights."

It continues:

"We recommend opposing the language of the Council's common position of 28 January because it allows Member States to authorise general and exploratory electronic surveillance on a large scale. While the fight against terrorism is a legitimate purpose, we do not believe it can justify actions that undermine the most fundamental rights of democratic states."

The letter also alleges that some Member States have “secretly” drafted a Framework Decision to compel all Member States to introduce a law to compel retention of traffic data which, the authors claim, “clearly shows the Council and EU governments' total disregard for the European Parliament's opinion.“

Individuals are also being encouraged to endorse the letter, and can do so on-line until May 28.

See:

• The letter
• The draft Directive concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector
• The European Parliament Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs’ draft Recommendation
• The draft Recommendation for second reading on the Council common position