Telecommunication data retention
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Polish proposal to demand ID for pre-paid cards
Revising the Polish Telecommunication Act to implement the EU e-communication directives, the Polish Ministry of Infrastructure introduced a new obligation for mandatory identification of buyers of pre-paid GSM-cards. The proposal is brought as an anti-terrorism measure. State officials immediately acknowledged that the ID-demand would not make pre-paid cards totally anonymous, referring to the vivid trade […]
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Recommended reading: report 2003 of the EU network on fundamental rights
The EU Network of Independent Experts on Fundamental Rights published their 2003 report. The network has been set up by the European Commission, upon request of the European Parliament. Since 2002, it monitors the situation of fundamental rights in the Member States and in the Union, on the basis of the Charter of Fundamental Rights. […]
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EU to sign agreement on PNR transfer to the U.S.
With the approval on 17 May 2004 of the transfer of airline passenger’s personal data to the U.S., the Commission and the Council of the European Union have bluntly bypassed the European Parliament and Court of Justice. Daniel Cohn-Bendit, head of the Green/EFA Group in the European Parliament, said the decision was “ignoring the declared […]
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New telecommunications act in Germany
On Wednesday 5 May, the Mediation Committee, a common organ of the two German legislative bodies, adopted a compromise regarding the new German Telecommunications Act. It brought back a number of privacy restrictions that were already contained in the Government’s draft act (See EDRI-gram nr. 21), but had been rejected by the Deutsche Bundestag, the […]
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Recommended reading: privacy and biometrics
The OECD working party on information security and privacy have published a very informative but dry report about biometrics. The report analyses theory and practice of the following major biometric-based technologies: finger-scanning, hand geometry, facial recognition, iris scanning, retinal scanning, finger geometry, voice recognition and dynamic signature verification. A brief description of other, more obscure […]
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New EU proposal to store telecommunication data of 450 million citizens
France, Ireland, the UK and Sweden have made a joint proposal to the Council of the European Union to store the telecommunication data of all 450 million EU citizens for a period of 12 to 36 months, for law enforcement purposes. If the ministers of the member states accept the proposal for a framework decision, […]
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EU Parliament ditches PNR transfer for the third time
A last effort of the EU Council to reach agreement with the European Parliament about the transfer of airliner passenger’s personal data (Passenger Name Record; PNR) to the U.S. failed on Tuesday 4 May. With a 343 to 301 majority, Parliament decided not to vote on the Council’s proposal to treat the matter as an […]
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Privacy International report on ID-cards and terrorism
EDRi member Privacy International has published an Interim Report on the link between identity cards and the prevention of terrorism. The report, the first of its kind, was initiated following attempts by the UK and Canadian governments to introduce biometric ID cards. The report analysed the 25 countries that have been most affected by terrorism […]
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Romania implements Cybercrime Convention
Romania has implemented the Cybercrime Convention with law nr. 64 from 24 March 2004. The law was published in the Official Monitor nr. 343, on 20 April 2004. The main provisions of the Cybercrime Convention were already incorporated in Title III of the Anti-corruption law nr. 161/2003, published in the Official Monitor nr. 279 from […]
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Council accepts Spanish PNR proposal
The Council of ministers of justice and interior affairs (JHA) accepted on 29 April 2004 the Spanish proposal to oblige European air carriers to transfer passenger data about non-EU passengers entering the EU. “At the request of the authorities responsible for carrying out checks on persons at external borders, carriers will be obliged to transmit, […]
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Final French vote on controversial Digital Economy Law
Tomorrow, 6 May 2004, the French national assembly will have the final reading of the controversial digital economy law (Loi sur la confiance dans l’economie numerique, LEN), followed by a final reading in the Senate on 13 May 2004. This will conclude the French transposition process of the E-Commerce Directive (2000/31/EC) and part of the […]
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EU Commission taken to Court over PNR transfer
Today, 21 April 2004, the European Parliament has voted to take the European Commission to court over the agreement with the United States Department of Homeland Security on the transfer of air passenger’s personal data (PNR) to U.S. authorities. The Strasbourg Court is now to examine whether the Commission, when making the deal, exceeded its […]
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