EDRI calls for restraint in extraordinary JHA Council

EDRI press release
Tuesday 12 July, 13.00 PM

European Digital Rights and Privacy International have sent an urgent letter today to the UK Presidency and the European Commissioners for Justice and Media to show restraint in tomorrow’s extraordinary JHA Council. EDRI expects the UK Presidency to table a new urgent procedure for the proposal on telecommunication data retention, bypassing the European Commission and the European Parliament.

EDRI objects to this procedure and suggests the proposal has evolved a life of its own, without any convincing proof of the usefulness and benefits and without any analysis on the costs and effectiveness. Bypassing the regular democratic procedure can only produce strong distrust in the democratic process, “thus eroding the very foundations of our society”.

EDRI writes: “Human rights law matters most when governments and societies face times of crisis. The worst possible response would be to jeopardise those carefully wrought rights by a panic-inspired response. We consider the draft framework decision on ubiquitous data retention a serious violation of the right to a private life and a serious endangerment to freedom of speech.”

EDRI calls on the UK Presidency to reconsider this strategy and in stead
engage in a genuine and meaningful public debate with the European
Commission and the European Parliament on effective, proportionate and
necessary measures.

The letter is available in English:
http://www.edri.org/docs/lettertoUKpres.pdf

and French:
http://www.edri.org/docs/lettertoUKpres-fr.pdf

and Spanish:
http://www.edri.org/docs/cartaBlair.pdf