Worrying news for all advocates of freedom of speech and privacy: as of 6th April 2009 internet serbice providers (ISP’s) will stor all details of your emails, website visits and net phone calls.
This is in respones to an EU Directive that was instigated in the wake of the London bombings in 2006. Many ISP’s and teleocoms companies across Europe have resisted the proposals, whilst some countries are actually contesting the directive.
The Executive Director of the Open Rights Group, Jim Killock stated that it was a “crazy directive” with frightening and dangerous repercussions for all net users within the EU.
The direcive states that all ISPs within the EU have to store the records for a year from now on; a similar framework is already in place for telephone records.
Whislt the data stored doesn’t include content, it includes details of the connections between individuals which is accesible to authorities with a warrant.
The Home Office in the UK stated that the measures had “effective safeguards” in place to ensure fair play, but ISPs have warned that the additional costs of storing such information will invariably be passed onto the consumer.