EU Data-Retention Laws Stricter Than Many People Realized

An anonymous reader writes with a snippet from the Telegraph: "A European Union directive, which Britain was instrumental in devising, comes into force which will require all internet service providers to retain information on email traffic, visits to web sites and telephone calls made over the internet, for 12 months."

Comments

Broken summary

[Norsefire]

The summary is completely broken which should be easier to notice than dupes? Anyway, it is supposed to say (from the Firehost article those to lazy to click):

"A European Union directive, which Britain was instrumental in devising, comes into force which will require all internet service providers to retain information on email traffic, visits to web sites and telephone calls made over the internet, for 12 months. Police and the security services will be able to access the information to combat crime and terrorism. Hundreds of public bodies and quangos, including local councils, will also be able to access the data to investigate flytipping and other less serious crimes. It was previously thought that only the large companies would be required to take part, covering 95 per cent of Britain's internet usage, but a Home Office spokesman has confirmed it will be applied "across the board" to even the smallest company."

Re:Broken summary

[palegray.net]

Once again, for those who didn't get the top-level reply: I think this is the story Slashdot is attempting to post.

Re:40,000 TB of stored emails over 12 months.

[Halo1]

Data retention is optional in mainland Europe

No, it's required in the entire EU by the directive. However, the directive does not lay down many limits, but mainly imposes some minima.

As a result, law enforcement agencies in many countries have been having constant wet dreams ever since and are pushing with all their might to extend the national implementations (massively) beyond those minima. While even those minima would already have made the STASI green with envy...

BBC News link

[azzy]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7985339.stm

Re:40,000 TB of stored emails over 12 months.

[Shakrai]

Surveillance, once implemented, has never in history been cut without social upheaval.

Time for social upheaval then.... oh wait, American Idol is on, can we do it after?