Slashdot Mirror
Law Requires Italian Web Cafes to Record ID
Armadni General writes "CNN is reporting that a new Italian law requires that all businesses offering public internet access, such as web cafes, to identify and record all customers. While supporters of this law trumpet its anti-terrorism potential, still others see no such advantage and bemoan this invasion of personal privacy. 'They must be able, if necessary, to track the sites visited by their clients. [...] Contents of people's e-mail is, however, supposed to remain private and can only be made available to law enforcement through a court order. Italy also obliges telecommunications companies to keep traffic data and European ministers agreed last week to require the carriers to retain records of calls and e-mails for a maximum of two years. The European Parliament's two largest groups endorsed the data retention initiative on Wednesday despite complaints from privacy advocates and telecoms, and the full body is expected to adopt a bill next week.'"
First off, I realy think the proposal of the EU minister would have /. article on its own.
merrited a
It's such a broad assault on the privacy of European citizens that I
don't think there is anything comparable in European history, yet, for
most people who only follow the mainstream press, it's an absolute
non-story. There is close to no coverage at all.
To spell it out again, information about all your telephone calls (that
is, for example, who you called and when), all your email (that is whom
did you write to and when) and all the websites you visited will be
recorded and stored for at least 6 months and up to 24 months.
As to who will be able to use this information, this is of course left
very vague and surprise, surprise, the music industry is already
lobbying to have access to this data.
Really, this proposal that will probably make it through the parliament
will change Europe in a very, very worrying way and nobody seems to be
upset about it. It's frustrating and scary.
P.S.:
I just read on spiegel online (a german news site), that the Italian law
leads to a lot of web cafes closing their door, because customers are
not willing to take this bs.
Alas ! That the same thing was voted in France a couple weeks ago...
Bah, our Minister of the Interior, Nicolas Sarkozy, is best buds with the Bush administration, so what can a guy do ? :-(
Well it may come to that. When on vacation in Spain and Austria I noticed a variety of billing methods for net labs. The most common was 'quisiera usar Internet' - 'bien, usa ordenador numero ocho'. and settle payment when you left. (Sorry if my Spanish is wrong!) Some did make you pay upfront for half hour blocks with a temporary login and password. (Printed out on a POS docket). Others were timed with a coin slot.
That was mainly net access in pay by the hour computer labs. Whilst there wasn't any ID check it's not too far removed.
For actual cafes, whose main revenue is food and drink the following scenario might apply: Some multinational coffee chains already have membership swipe cards that allow for rewards such as a free coffee after every umpteenth purchase. Every time you buy coffee and a muffin you might get, say, 15 mins free net access -forcing you to go back for more food to extend your time. Premium members might pay for credits in advance. Beats sticking a coin in a slot every 10 minutes.
First, the "Big Brother" directive being forced through the EU which mandates logging of all end-points used in communications.
Second, the elimination of anonymous access, via cybercafes and pre-paid phone cards. This closes the present loopholes in the implementation of Big Brother.
Third, the creation of EU-wide databases that are accessible to police forces before criminal acts occur. Yes, this data will be abused, sold, stolen, leaked. It always happens.
Forth, the creation of new types of "crime". See the French proposal to outlaw free software, proposals to criminalise patent infringement, etc.
Fifth, the creation of EU juduicial and police structures to enforce these crimes. See EPO tribunals, EU arrest warrant, extradition for crimes like "piracy", etc.
Interesting to note that all references to "terrorism" were removed from the compromise ammendments that will be voted on Wednesday. This wave of anti-privacy legislation has nothing to do with terrorism (that was just the stick) and everything to do with autocrats in business and in government that feel they have lost control of new technology and will do anything to regain it.
The real targets of these laws are downloaders, tax evaders, petty and less petty crooks... it'd be justified if the EU was sinking in a sea of crime, but since crime rates have been falling year on year...
Europe's privacy advocates are rightly worried. It is the sheer speed of the assault (all happening in a few months) that has left most of us staggered. No time to lobby, no time to mount a resistance, almost no time even for journalists to notice what's happening.
Lastly, and most worryingly for EU citizens, is the way criminal law and new definitions of crime are being created by the unelected Council and Commission burocracy - these groups have basically coerced the European Parliament into accepting "compromises" or being left out of the legislative process completely.
In other words... we cannot vote these laws away. There is no mechanism for appeal. There is no supreme court. There is no constitution. When French and Dutch voters threw out the consitution, they threw out a last chance for European democracy. If only they had known...
My blog
It's been on the news for months. The proposed bill, announced July 27, has actually been enacted as an executive provision ("decreto ministeriale," ministerial decree) by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It's now awaiting ratification by Parliament, which is required to make it an official law. It will expire if it's not voted on, or rejected. It's been called "decreto Pisanu," from the name of the signing Minister, since late August.
Next time, as an Italian, try reading papers or web daily Punto Informatico. The third story is about cafés being raided and closed in Florence for several criminal offences. Some of them have been shut down for 5 days because of violations of "decreto Pisanu," as further proof that this idiotic law is already being enacted.
What is, to me, the worst part has not been mentioned in the /. blurb. The wording in the law, apparently, makes ID recording mandatory for public WiFi access, as well, independent of the nature of the service - be it paid for, free of charge/public, or a city-wide municipal network. This may very well kill the stuttering penetration of commercial and public WiFi in Italy. Who's going to pay for the guy in charge of checking the validity of, and registering ID for people who want to connect to the library's free wireless network? Or just think of the lines to get registered for the airport's network...
I don't know what ISP you were trying to sign up for, or when, but at present they require a billing address and so-called "codice fiscale," fiscal code, which is a code constructed from your name, place and date of birth. It's a univocal identifier for every citizen, and is usually required for billing purposes.
Sometimes citizenship/legal residence is (inadvertently?) required for even the most trivial tasks in many places. Try reloading a Cingular pre-paid phone over the phone: if your credit card's billing address is not in the US, it won't work. And the operators will helpfully suggest you get an American credit card to work around the problem...