Europe proposes tightening of online laws
Publish date: 28 February 2007
Issue Number: 1172
Diary: Legalbrief eLaw
Category: Governance
As previously noted in eLaw & Management, some European countries are proposing outlawing the use of fake information to open e-mail accounts or set up Web sites, a move intended to help terror investigations but which could face resistance on a privacy-conscious continent.
According to a MSNBC report, the German and Dutch Governments have taken the lead on the proposals, crafting legislation that would make it illegal to provide false information to ISPs and require phone companies to save detailed records on customer usage. The aim is to make it easier for law enforcement to access information when they investigate crimes or terrorist attacks. But Europeans have long cherished their privacy, railing against measures that would see personal information stored for commercial use or government examination.
Full MSNBC report
In other news from Europe, EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini has assured Germany\'s Federal Minister of the Interior Wolfgang Schäuble of his support for the government\'s plans to engage in so-called online searches of private PCs, Heise Online reports. He noted that \'data protection issues\' would need to be taken into account. The move would be to enable law enforcement to track potential terrorist communications. E-Brief News reports that this follows a ruling by the German Federal Court of Justice ruling that hacking by the police was illegal under current law, even if this was accompanied by an order from a judge, as previously reported in eLaw & Management.
Full Heise Online report
