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UK: Statewatch analysis: Mandatory retention of telecommunications traffic to be "nodded" through in the UK

01 May 2007

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Statewatch report (pdf)

- the EC Directive on mandatory retention will be adopted in the UK without any meaningful debate by simple "affirmative" votes in parliament

- the government is saying that the EC Directive covering serious crime can be used for any crime however minor

- the government is saying that there is no need for public or parliamentary discussion on privacy, civil liberties or human rights issues as these have
already been discussed at the EU level

- the annual report of the Interception of Communications Commissioner says there were a staggering 439,054 requests to service providers for
communication data by the law enforcement agencies

Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:

"The collection and retention of everyone’s communications data is a momentous decision, one that should not be slipped through parliament
without anyone noticing as the government plans to do.

The government’s proposal changes a voluntary agreement into a binding law, on these grounds alone there should be primary legislation.

Moreover, the EC Directive limits the purpose for which data can be retained to “serious crime” but the government intends to extend the scope to all
crime however minor."

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