Tag: data retention

EU home affairs ministers yesterday (13 December) gave the go-ahead to a controversial agreement between the EU and the US on passenger data records, sparking some criticism in the European Parliament which is now set to consider the deal.

The European data protection supervisor, Peter Hustinx, has determined that current EU legislation on the retention of personal data contradicts rights to privacy and data protection. EurActiv France reports.

MEPs are gearing up for a fight with the European Commission on a review of rules allowing countries to store telecommunications data for anti-terror investigations, as they urge the EU executive to substantially reduce the scope of the law.

Viviane Reding, the EU's new commissioner for justice and fundamental rights, is planning ambitious reforms for her mandate including the introduction of a European Civil Code and a major revamp of EU data protection rules.

EU ministers have agreed on a new system to help police across the EU share DNA, fingerprint and car-registration data of criminal suspects, with law-enforcement agencies in respective countries soon able to check online for matches on other countries' databases. 

Data protection and privacy advocates are wrongly criticised of hindering security policies, says the EU Data Protection Supervisor, who warns against giving up hard-won rights.

The Parliament has given in to pressure from the UK Presidency and adopted a set of amendments that bring the draft directive on data retention into line with a more far-reaching proposal backed by, among other countries, the UK.

In an interview with EurActiv, Alexander Alvaro, the rapporteur on data retention, said he expected Parliament "to stand pretty united" if the Council decides to push through a disputed framework decision on the matter.

The Parliament's Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) Committee has broadly adopted a set of compromise amendments aiming at limiting the data storage obligation the Council and the Commission want to impose on telecommunication and internet companies.

Of the measures agreed at the Justice and Home Affairs Council on 12 October, the most controversial is the proposal that telephone companies should keep records of all phone calls for a minimum of one year.

EU Data Protection Supervisor Peter Hustinx has criticised the Commission's proposal on data retention for lacking justification and leaving too many crucial questions open to interpretation. Parliament rejected the Council's draft on the same issue for the second time.

The Commission proposes that traffic and location data from fixed and mobile telephony be stored for one year and internet data for six months, according to a leaked draft directive.

UK Home Secretary Charles Clarke met with tough questioning over proposed anti-terrorist measures when he addressed Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE).

EU Data Protection Supervisor Peter Hustinx has presented a report that tries to strike a delicate balance between the fundamental rights of access to documents and of data protection. In an exclusive interview with EurActiv, Mr. Hustinx commented on the paper and on other EU data protection issues. 

In the aftermath of the 7 July 2005 attacks against London, the UK Presidency plans to put forward a proposal on the storage of data from phone and internet communication, a plan unanimously rejected by the European Parliament on 7 June.

Following an initiative of France, Ireland, Sweden and the United Kingdom, the Parliament is currently discussing a proposal to retain traffic data from fixed and mobile telephony and internet usage for up to three years. The Commission has now decided to give the EP more of a say in this dossier.

On 2 September 'Content Village', a website designed to disseminate and promote results of the eContent programme, was launched.