EU data retention rules

The European Commission today published an evaluation report on the EU directive on data retention for telecommunications data. The Greens believe the report, which has revealed the far-reaching nature of data retention under the rules, underlines the need to annul the directive. Commenting on the report, Green home affairs expert Jan Philipp Albrecht said:

"This evaluation makes clear that the EU data retention directive is completely disproportionate, allowing for the far-reaching retention of telecommunications data with no real justification. Under the directive, EU member states and telecommunications authorities can store masses of data based on unclear and ill-defined criteria, with no requirement to prove the retention is necessary for combating terrorism or organised crime. This far-reaching and groundless data retention is a clear infringement of the basic rights of EU citizens. The only proportionate response to these damning findings is to scrap the directive and we call on the Commission to take immediate steps to this end.

"The data retention directive was and remains an excessive knee-jerk response to terrorist attacks in Europe. There is no evidence that the far-reaching retention of data has led to any concrete results beyond compromising civil liberties. Following on from clear rulings by constitutional courts in Germany, Romania and the Czech Republic, it is now high time that the directive is revoked."

(1) The Commission today presented an evaluation report on the implementation of Directive 2006/24/EC, on "the retention of data generated or processed in connection with the provision of publicly available electronic communications services or of public communications networks and amending Directive 2002/58/EC".

* Jan Philipp Albrecht has published an extensive assessment (in German) of the Commission's report at http://janalbrecht.eu/2011/04/18/bewertung-des-berichtes-der-kommission-zur-vorratsdatenspeicherung.