From: Statewatch news and announcementsTo: List Member
Sent: 16/05/01 11:36
Subject: EU to massively extend surveillance

Statewatch news and announcements - http://www.statewatch.org

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Exclusive Statewatch report:

EU GOVERNMENTS TO GIVE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES ACCESS TO ALL
COMMUNICATIONS DATA

Summary:

* EU laws on data protection and privacy to be reviewed to meet demands
of
the "agencies" for access to all telecommunications content and traffic
data

* The Council of the European Union to back retention and archiving of
all
phone-calls, e-mails, faxes, internet usage and websites for up to seven
years

* "ENFOPOL 98" to go through EU Justice and Home Affairs Council at the
end of May: extending surveillance to mobile phones, internet usage and
websites

* access to documents refused because disclosure "could impede the
efficiency of ongoing deliberations"

The Council of the European Union (the 15 EU governments) is about to
back
the demands of EU "law enforcement agencies" for full access to all
telecommunications data to be written into all Community legislation in
the future, and for existing laws to be re-examined - a move that is
even
more far-reaching than the decision on 17 January 1995 to sign up to the
FBI plan for the interception of telecommunications.

At the centre is the issue of "data retention" (the archiving of all
telecommunications for at least seven years). By backing the law
enforcement agencies' demands the EU governments will be coming out in
direct opposition to the strongly-held views of the Data Protection
Commissioners.

The January 1995 decision by the EU meant that it adopted "Requirements"
for interception agreed with the FBI. In September 1998 an attempt to
update the "Requirements" to cover the internet and satellite phones was
shelved because of a public outcry ("ENFOPOL 98"). Instead EU member
states started amending their national laws on interception. But last
year
two proposals from the European Commission on personal data protection
and
privacy and "combating computer-related crime" threatened to undermine
the
demands of the law enforcement agencies for access to all
telecommunications data.

Six EU governments lead the opposition to the erasure of traffic data -
as
required under current community law: Belgium, Germany, France,
Netherlands, Spain and the UK.

The "Council Conclusions" (ENFOPOL 23, 30.3.01) say:

1. The obligation for operators to erase and make traffic data anonymous
"seriously obstructs" criminal investigations;

2. It is of the "utmost importance" that "access" be "guaranteed" for
criminal investigations;

3. It calls on the European Commission to:

a) take "immediate action" to ensure that law enforcement agencies now
and
"in the future" get access in order to "investigate crimes where
electronic communications systems are or have been used";
b) the "action" should be "a review of the provisions that oblige
operators to erase traffic data or to make them anonymous"

In short, existing EU laws on data protection and privacy have to be
reviewed to enable the retention of traffic data for the investigation
of
"crime" (not serious organised crime, but any crime). All future laws,
including the proposals currently being discussed on the protection of
privacy and computer-aided crime should ensure the retention of data.
All
the protections for personal freedom and privacy put in place through
international data protection rules and privacy Directives would be
fatally undermined at a stroke.

ENFOPOL 98 updated (ENFOPOL 29) is scheduled for adoption at the next
meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council on 28-29 May, together
with a Resolution emphasising the great importance of ensuring that the
redefined "Requirements" are built into community measures under the
"first pillar". The adoption of the Conclusions, if agreement can be
reached on the text, has been "pencilled in" for the meeting of the
Telecommunications Council on 27 June - at the same meeting where the
Council will adopt a "common position" on the new data protection and
privacy Directive.

Statewatch was refused access to these documents by the Council on the
grounds that it could:

"impede the efficiency of the ongoing deliberations".

Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:

"Authoritarian and totalitarian states would be condemned for violating
human rights and civil liberties if they initiated such practices. The
fact that it is being proposed in the "democratic" EU does not make it
any
less authoritarian or totalitarian."

Contact for further information: Statewatch: 00 44 208 802 1882 or
e-mail:
[log in to unmask]

The full report and all documentation is available on:
<http://www.statewatch.org/soseurope.htm>


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