Telecommunication data retention
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New Italian decree forbids file-sharing
The Italian government has issued a decree on Friday 12 March that puts a fine of 1.500 euro on the internet file-sharing of feature movies. On top of the fine, computers and digital storage media can be seized. To complete the humiliation for the file-sharer, the sentence has to be published in 1 national daily […]
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German government rejects data retention
On Friday 12 March the German Parliament (Bundestag) will discuss the proposal for a new Telecommunication Law in second and third reading. The government coalition (made up of Social Democrats and Greens) has softened many of the proposed new telecommunication surveillance powers. There won’t be mandatory general data retention and the costs of handing-over data […]
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Austrian court demands control military snooping powers
The Austrian Constitutional Court (VfGH) has declared parts of the military power law (Militaerbefugnisgesetz, MBG) unconstitutional, in a decision dated 23 January 2004. The case was instigated by Social Democratic members of the Austrian Parliament. The decision does not repair all points that critics have raised. The military law was adopted in the year 2000 […]
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Privacy-penalty for French Scientology critic
In France the owner of a website was convicted to pay a penalty of 450 Euro for publishing personal data without first registering with the Data Protection Authority, the CNIL. On 25 February the appeal-court of Lyon confirmed the earlier ruling, even though the judges decided to suspend payment of the penalty. Remarkably the website-owner, […]
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Proposal EU Parliament to reject PNR transfer
The European parliament’s committee on Citizens’ Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs is preparing to vote on a proposal by MEP Johanna Boogerd-Quaak to reject the draft decision of the EU Commission under which airline passenger data are transferred to the US Bureau of Customs and Border Protection. The proposal calls upon EU Member […]
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Cappato report about privacy adopted
On 9 March the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the implementation of the Data Protection Directive of 1995 (95/46/EC), based on an own-initiative report by the Italian radical Marco Cappato. The report is very critical about the lack of adequate privacy protection in Europe. The report centres on data protection within the third pillar […]
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UK government welcomes report about data retention
The UK Government has given a guarded welcome to a review of its data retention powers. The review came from the Newton Committee, which was set up by the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 that created these powers. The Committee, even though empowered to revoke some powers, supports the principle of data retention for […]
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EU to promote research track & trace technology
According to a new Communication on the research into security, the European Commission plans to fund research on “tagging, tracking and tracing devices … that improve the capability to locate, identify and follow the movement of mobile assets, goods and persons”. The Commission announces the launch of a new funding program entitled ‘Enhancement of the […]
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Big Brother Awards presented in Paris
On 4 February 2004 the French Big Brother Awards were presented in a movie theatre in Paris. In the category ‘Government’ a double award was given to the Ministers of Justice and Internal Affairs, Dominique Perben and Nicolas Sarkozy, for their joined efforts in changing the law on organised crime. The new adaptation (Perben II) […]
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Hungary signs cybercrime treaty
On 4 December 2003, Hungary became the fourth country (along with Albania, Croatia and Estonia) to ratify the Cybercrime Convention. Lithuania is the latest country to have signed the Convention (26 June 2003). All 15 EU states have already signed it. Hungary made an explicit reservation, reserving the right not to apply Article 9, paragraph […]
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EU Commission heads for global travel surveillance system
The UK civil liberties group Privacy International, in co-operation with European Digital Rights, the Foundation for Information Policy Research and Statewatch, has published an analysis of the EU-US negotiations on the transfer on passenger information (PNR). The report titled ‘Transferring Privacy’ describes how the European Commission leaves European privacy rights at the mercy of the […]
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Spy-chips discovered in German loyalty cards
After a tour in the Future Store of the German Metro concern, privacy advocate Katherine Albrecht discovered spy-chips with unique numbers in the customer loyalty cards. She also found RFID tags on products sold in the store that were not completely de-activated after the purchase. Albrecht, founder of CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and […]
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