Danish agreement on digital civil rights

On 4 July, the Danish Committee on citizens IT-rights published a list of
10 recommendations on digital civil rights. The committee was established
in September last year by the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and
Innovation. The recommendations deal with communication with the public
sector, with privacy and registration, with freedom of expression and with
access to information.

The recommendations paint a bleak picture of privacy in the state of
Denmark. For example, as part of an anti-terrorism package telecom traffic
data must be retained for 1 year. The committee now urges government to
inform both citizens and internet service providers on the new rules and
procedures for data retention, “upon completion of the administrative
order, which is currently being drafted by the Ministry of Justice and the
Ministry of Research, Technology and Innovation.”

Among the recommendations for freedom of information is a call to make sure
filters or other means of protecting minors in public libraries do not
hinder parental rights to freely seek information. The committee also
agreed on establishing a working group with the aim of clarifying the
premises for granting citizens digital access to information regarding
which authorities have used their personal data and for which objective.

The committee consisted of representatives from various ministries,
consumer organisations, the IT-business sector and civil society, amongst
which EDRI-member Digital Rights.

Recommendations (04.07.2003)
http://www.edri.org/docs/denmark_it_rights.pdf