Silly Remarks
Wednesday, May 12, 2004
More Euroland Internet Surveillance
In case You should be in any doubt about which way Liberty, Fraternity and Equality are moving on the Internet in Euroland, reports on Statewatch Euro Civil Liberties Monitor will give You a few indications.
The UK, France, Belgium, Ireland and Sweden - all already noted for their opaque and selective investigative and judicial procedures - are pushing to compel all Euroland (25 countries) ISP and Phone companies to conserve details about each and every client for between one and three years.
Such information would cover traffic and location information about each call made on every Account: Where a mobile phone is used, caller and recipient identities concerning Phone-calls, E-mails, and SMS. Plus the complete lists of all Websites visited.
Not bad, eh ? No such draconian requirements exist in the US nor Japan. Unlikely they could ever get through Legislation. France is already pushing ahead with its own initial 12-month national storage obligation. The problem for the ISP and Phone Companies is where are they gonna stock all this stuff. That naturally begs the question, Who will Pay for the stocking, and the examination of such a huge quantity of material? We shall let You guess who the costs will be passed on to.
As to the notion of the Individual's Right to Privacy and Freedom, You might care to mull that over, also, in light of the above.
