EDRI press release, Monday 6 June 2005

European Digital Rights (EDRI) has sent an open letter today to the European Parliament calling for a rejection of the European ministers of Justice and Home Affairs plan to keep all telephone and internet traffic data.

Tomorrow, the European Parliament will vote in plenary on a report by Parliament member Alexander Alvaro on the mandatory data retention plan. Alvaro's report concludes that the proposal is disproportionate. The report also questions the necessity, effectiveness and high costs for industry and telecommunication users. EDRI asks the members of Parliament to adopt Alvaro's report.

=>PDF version of this letter in English.

=>Voir la version Francaise sur le site d'IRIS. Également disponible en PDF.

=>Dieser Brief auf Deutsch. Auch in PDF

=>Esta Carta en Espanol.

To the presidents of the political groups in the European Parliament

Monday 6 June 2005

Dear Sir/Madam,

We kindly request your attention on the matter of the plenary vote (scheduled for 7 June 2005) on the report from LIBE rapporteur Alexander Alvaro on mandatory data retention, nr. 2004/0813(CNS). We are appealing to you on behalf of European Digital Rights, a not-for-profit association of 17 digital civil rights organisations from 11 European countries, Privacy International, an international non-governmental organisation with members in over 30 countries and Statewatch, an organisation that monitors civil liberties in Europe with correspondents in 14 European countries.

Communications data retention is a policy that significantly expands powers of surveillance in an unprecedented manner. It simultaneously revokes many of safeguards in European human rights instruments, such as the Data Protection Directives and the European Convention on Human Rights.

The not for profit association FFII (Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure) is assembling all forces for a climax in the battle against the patentability of software programs. On 6 July 2005 the European Parliament will vote in plenary on the proposed directive on computer-implemented inventions. It is the second reading. In the first reading Parliament rejected the Commission proposal with a large majority, but that protest was largely ignored by the ministers of competitiveness from the member states. In the second reading an absolute majority of all MEPs is required to reject or amend the proposal, i.e. 367 votes, irrespective of absences or abstentions. In order to make sure enough MEPs are present, FFII is calling on all supporters to contact their national Europarl representatives.

Tomorrow 3 June at 13.00 PM the ministers of Justice and Home Affairs (JHA Council) will give a press conference about their achievements with regards to the introduction of mandatory data retention, item B5 on the agenda. On 7 June 2005 the European Parliament will vote in plenary on the report from Alexander Alvaro. The report finds the proposal disproportionate and ineffective and not in compliance with the fundamental principle of the presumption of innocence. It is widely expected that the report will be adopted with a large majority, thus sending a clear signal to Council and Commission that the Parliament is angry about its advisory role and wishes a much stronger public debate about the need, necessity and costs of data retention. On 26 May 2005 the Europarl LIBE commission already adopted this report almost unanimously, with only 1 vote against.

On 13 May 2005 the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers adopted a declaration on human rights and Internet that was prepared by a special committee of academic experts and government representatives. According to the press release, "the declaration is the first international attempt to draw up a framework on the issue and breaks ground by up-dating the principles of the European Convention on Human Rights for the cyber-age."

Indeed the declaration contains a very reassuring confirmation of the fact that "all rights enshrined in the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR) remain fully valid in the Information Age and should continue to be protected regardless of new technological developments" and a firm statement that "Both the content and traffic data of electronic communications fall under the scope of Article 8 of the ECHR and should not be submitted to restrictions other than those provided for in that provision."

On 28 April 2005 6 EU countries sent an open letter to the European Commission and the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council asking for a European digital library. Inspired by the French president Jacques Chirac, the presidents or prime ministers of Poland, Germany, Italy, Spain and Hungary have signed the letter.

On 3 May 2005 the European Commission responded with an announcement that it will boost its policy of preserving and exploiting Europe's written and audiovisual heritage. The Commission plans to issue a communication by July outlining the stakes involved and identifying the obstacles to using written and audiovisual archives in the European Union. The communication will be accompanied by a proposal for a Recommendation aimed at enlisting all the public players concerned and facilitating public-private partnerships in the task of digitising the European heritage.

European privacy developments and counter strategies from civil society was one of the topics at the annual US privacy conference, Computers, Freedoms and Privacy (CFP), last week in Seattle.

During the specific debate devoted to developments in Europe it became clear that while EU countries used to be known for their strong privacy legislation and oversight mechanisms, the last couple of years represent a serious set-back in human rights protection. Examples discussed included mandatory data retention, ID cards such as the recent French proposal, transfer of passenger data and biometric identifiers on passports. The mainly American audience was quite astonished about the amount of privacy invasive measures, which have been introduced in Europe as part of the 'war on terror'.

The French minister of the Interior Dominique de Villepin has announced plans to force every Frenchman to buy a new electronic ID card with a chip containing photograph and fingerprints. On 11 April the French government outlined its plan to introduce biometrics on passports by 2006 and on ID cards by 2007.

In an interview with the newspaper France-Soir a day later, De Villepin said ID cards should be made compulsory again in France, after the obligation was deleted in 1955.

IDG News reports that the current French obligation to show ID at request is relatively mild. Citizens may present a driving license or a passport, even an expired one, or call witnesses. A passport currently costs about 60 euro in France, while identity cards are free. "The price of the passport will be increased a little. And there'll be a fee for the