EU EYES TOUGHER DATA RETENTION LAWS AFTER MADRID BOMBINGS
European govt. ministers are expected to adopt tough new antiterrorism measures, including pan-European rules for communications data retention, when they meet later this week. Outrage over the March 11 bombings in Madrid is behind the move. At an emergency meeting Mon., Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council members agreed on a draft declaration on combating terrorism floated by the Irish Presidency and the European Commission (EC). Among other things, they focused on quick development of rules for retention of communications traffic data by service providers, the Presidency said. Not surprisingly, the prospect of more data retention rules prompted criticism from civil liberties advocates.
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An EC action paper in response to the attacks lists 5 steps the European Union should take. One calls for better use of existing antiterrorism laws and adoption of draft bills already on the Council table. These include: (1) A 2000 convention on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters and a 2001 protocol containing rules relating to cross-border requests for interception of communications and monitoring bank accounts. There’s no legal deadline carrying out the convention, and only 4 members states have ratified it, the paper said. (2) A draft framework decision on attacks against information systems. Political agreement was reached in Feb. 2003 but “parliamentary reservations are still pending” by 3 member states, the paper said.
The action plan also calls for better coordination and cooperation in fighting terrorism, including in information exchange among law enforcement agencies, judicial authorities and intelligence services. It also recommends that all legislation be submitted to “terrorism proof scrutiny” before enactment. For instance, the plan said, “it is important to take measures to avoid that mobile telephones are used as tools by terrorists and other criminal groups. Reprogramming of stolen mobile communications equipment should be criminalised.” Information campaigns should encourage the public to report lost or stolen mobiles, the plan said, “and measures should be taken so that the sale of replacement SIM cards does not impede the efficient actions of law enforcement authorities.”
U.K. Home Secy. David Blunkett pushed for common standards for Internet and telephone data traffic retention. He said it was “particularly gratifying” JHA had accepted his govt.’s specific points. Tony Bunyan, editor of the online newsletter for Statewatch, a U.K.-based organization that monitors the state and civil liberties in Europe, said it was to be expected govts. would want to beef up intelligence coordination and tackle the financing of terrorist organizations. But they're also using the Madrid attacks to introduce measures having little or nothing to do with terrorism, he said.
“We have already witnessed major assaults on civil liberties, data protection and privacy and democratic standards post 11 September where the so-called balance between ’security’ and ‘liberties’ has consistently come down on the side of ’security,” Bunyan wrote. Now the European Union appears to be going further down the same road, he said. “Legitimate measures to tackle terrorism will get everyone’s support,” Bunyan said. “But you cannot defend democracy by taking away people’s rights and putting everyone under surveillance.”
The mandatory data retention provisions the Council will consider have been resurrected from a draft framework decision leaked to, and by, Statewatch last year, Bunyan told us. That draft called for mandatory retention of communications data for 12-24 months and provided a mechanism for one member state to request data from another, he said. It proved so controversial that the EC backed off, deciding instead to let each member state adopt its own data retention law and then to press for harmonization.
When the full Council meets Thurs. and Fri., it will consider more than just antiterrorism issues. On the agenda are proposals aimed at stepping up competitiveness, including completing the Internet Market by, among other things, responding to new challenges such as e-communications.
On Tues., the European Telecom Network Operators’ Assn. (ETNO) said the telecom sector was “gradually showing signs of renewed confidence,” but obstacles to full recovery remained. Telecom ministers have invited market players to step up investment in broadband infrastructure and they're doing so, said an ETNO statement to the Council. However, it said, those investments depend on the “adequate implementation” of the new e-communications regulatory framework, allowing companies to get a fair return on their investment. “Establishing a demand-driven, investment friendly framework, and working together to remove the remaining obstacles (security and trust, interoperability, digital rights management ,etc.) is essential to reach the Lisbon objective of bringing the social and economic benefits of an information society to all,” ETNO said.