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European Legislation Threat to Privacy

The members of the European Union are drafting new laws, which will force companies to keep detailed records of their customers` telephone and Internet use, even more than European Union law currently requires. A proposal made by the German Ministry of Justice, would have the creation of Email accounts using false personal information illegal. Similarly, a bill in the Netherlands intends to extend European Union regulations and have telephone operators record the exact location of an individual during all phone calls made. Although, many fear a drastic change in policy regarding privacy issues, which has, in past years, been concerned mostly with the protection of privacy.

Internet service providers in Europe, currently, provide the police with customer information for debt collection, and keep this information available for 3 months. But, since the terrorist attacks in Spain and Britain, in 2004, law enforcement agencies in the continent have been lobbying for longer storage of more detailed information.

"This is an incredibly bad thing in terms of privacy, since people have grown up with the idea that you ought to be able to have an anonymous e-mail account," said Peter Fleischer, of Google`s Paris-based European privacy counsel. "Moreover, it`s totally unenforceable and would never work." Fleischer, whose company provides the highly popular free e-mail service, G-mail, said the proposed law would require his company some kind of identity verification in order to provide an Email account, "like you may have to register for an e-mail address with your national ID card."