Support Our Work Mailing list About / Contact
  • Home /
  • News /
  • 2011 /
  • April /
  • EU: MANDATORY DATA RETENTION OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS: Council of the European Union: Report from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament Evaluation report on the Data Retention Directive

EU: MANDATORY DATA RETENTION OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS: Council of the European Union: Report from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament Evaluation report on the Data Retention Directive

01 April 2011

Support our work: become a Friend of Statewatch from as little as £1/€1 per month.

EU: MANDATORY DATA RETENTION OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS: Council of the European Union: Report from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament Evaluation report on the Data Retention Directive (Directive 2006/24/EC) - Discussion paper (pdf).

Following on from the Commission report the Council Presidency poses a number of questions: 1) the "missing definition of serious crime" has led to "diverging, national practices and indeed, legal uncertainties"; 2) EU court have ruled that the "permanent collection of traffic data constitutes an interference with the right to privacy"; 3) So should the EU define what is a "serious crime"?; 4) Should statistics be used to demonstrate necessity and proportionality, especially as "tables of statistics include generally more empty fields than filled in ones"? "Missing statistics continue to raise questions.." 5) The current retention limits are a minimum of six months and a maximum of two years - should these be longer or shorter? 6) Should the use of unregistered (anonymous) SIM cards be banned? and 7) Should "data preservation" be used?

Tony Bunyan, Statewatch Director, comments: "The Council's Discussion Paper raises fundamental issues about the legality of Member States continuing to to gather and retain details of all communications under the Directive."

Our work is only possible with your support.
Become a Friend of Statewatch from as little as £1/€1 per month.

 Previous article

EU: Historical documents: EU-USA: TFTP/SWIFT Agreement (2)

 

Spotted an error? If you've spotted a problem with this page, just click once to let us know.

Report error

Statewatch does not have a corporate view, nor does it seek to create one, the views expressed are those of the author. Statewatch is not responsible for the content of external websites and inclusion of a link does not constitute an endorsement. Registered UK charity number: 1154784. Registered UK company number: 08480724. Registered company name: The Libertarian Research & Education Trust. Registered office: MayDay Rooms, 88 Fleet Street, London EC4Y 1DH. © Statewatch ISSN 1756-851X. Personal usage as private individuals "fair dealing" is allowed. We also welcome links to material on our site. Usage by those working for organisations is allowed only if the organisation holds an appropriate licence from the relevant reprographic rights organisation (eg: Copyright Licensing Agency in the UK) with such usage being subject to the terms and conditions of that licence and to local copyright law.

About | Contact | Privacy Policy