German court derails net data storage law
p2pnet view P2P | Politics:- Germany’s highest court today neutered an anti-terrorism law which had allowed the storage of all private phone calls and email traffic for possible use by law enforcement agencies.
“The ruling follows a warning by the government that private sector Internet companies such as Google, Facebook and Microsoft need to be more transparent about the personal data they store on Web users” says Der Spiegel.
On top of that, “Data stored so far must be deleted immediately, and strict controls must be put in place before the law can come into force again”, it says, goingon:
“The Federal Constitution Court ruled that major changes needed to be made to a 2008 law ordering data on calls made from mobile or fixed-line telephones and e-mail traffic to be kept for six months for possible access by law enforcement agencies.
“The judges said the data storage was not secure enough and that it was not sufficiently clear what it would be used for. A record number of almost 35,000 people, including current Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, had originally brought the case to the court. The law stems from a European Union directive.”
The ruling “hasn’t scrapped the law altogether, but has effectively suspended it until massive amendments limiting its scope have been implemented”, says the story, adding:
“Many plaintiffs had hoped the court would rule that storing data per se was unconstitutional and would scrap the law altogether.”
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First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi
Der Spiegel – German High Court Limits Phone and E-Mail Data Storage, March 2, 2010
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