On May 10 2006, a public hearing was held in the Danish Parliament on a new proposal for an anti-terror act including surveillance measures. The proposed law may increase camera surveillance, obliges carriers to store passenger data for one year and introduces new measures for the intelligence service. According to the proposal, the intelligence service may obtain personal data from other authorities regardless of whether there may be specific considerations for not forwarding the data (such as professional secrecy). Data may be obtained regardless of whether there is a specific suspect or the intelligence service wish to investigate all individuals having done something specific such as passing by a certain location or borrowing a certain book from the library. This is a measure which has particular implications in Denmark where comprehensive and detailed personal data of all citizens are registered in order to effectively provide the services offered by the welfare state.

The full day hearing organised by the Danish Technology Council was attended by politicians, police officers, industry, privacy experts, scholars and the public. Digital Rights Denmark was invited to give an oral and written contribution and put forward a number of critical remarks regarding the proposed measures that were considered incompatible with privacy rights while having a questionable ability to combat terror. Most speakers criticized the surveillance measures for being disproportional, unnecessary and unclear, while police and some politicians insisted that there is a need for improved tools to combat terror and that surveillance measures constituted such tools.

The new proposal for anti terror law (in Danish only)
http://www.ft.dk/Samling/20051/lovforslag/L217/index.htm

Comments from NGOs and others regarding the new proposal for anti terror law (in Danish only)
http://www.ft.dk/Samling/20051/MENU/dok_REU_L217_ALLE.htm

Digital Rights comments to the proposed law and the administrative report on new measures to combat terror (in Danish only)
http://www.digitalrights.dk/

(Contribution by Tanja Krabbe - EDRI-Member - Digital Rights - Denmark)