DRletter

Recipients

1. Cecilia Malmström, European Commissioner for Home Affairs, BE-1049 Brussels, Belgium
2. Viviane Reding, European Commission Vice-President with responsibility for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, BE-1049 Brussels, Belgium
3. Neelie Kroes, European Commission Vice-President with responsibility for the Digital Agenda

Draft text

Dear Commissioners,

The EU data retention directive 2006/24 requires telecommunications companies to store data about all of their customers' communications. Although ostensibly to reduce barriers to the single market, the Directive was proposed as a measure aimed at facilitating criminal investigations. The Directive creates a process for recording details of who communicated with whom via various electronic communications systems. In the case of mobile phone calls and SMS messages, the respective location of the users is also recorded. In combination with other data, Internet usage is also to be made traceable.

We believe that such invasive surveillance of the entire population is unacceptable. With a data retention regime in place, sensitive information about social contacts (including business contacts), movements and the private lives (e.g. contacts with physicians, lawyers, workers councils, psychologists, helplines, etc) of 500 million Europeans is collected in the absence of any suspicion. Telecommunications data retention undermines professional confidentiality, creating the permanent risk of data losses and data abuses and deters citizens from making confidential communications via electronic communication networks. It undermines the protection of journalistic sources and thus compromises the freedom of the press. Overall it damages preconditions of our open and democratic society. In the absence of a financial compensation scheme in most countries, the enormous costs of a telecommunications data retention regime must be borne by the thousands of affected telecommunications providers. This leads to price increases as well as the discontinuation of services, and indirectly burdens consumers.

Studies prove that the communications data available without data retention are generally sufficient for effective criminal investigations. Blanket data retention has proven to be superfluous, harmful or even unconstitutional in many states across Europe, such as Austria, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Romania and Sweden. These states prosecute crime just as effectively using targeted instruments, such as the data preservation regime agreed in the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime. There is no proof that telecommunications data retention provides for better protection against crime. On the other hand, we can see that it costs billions of euros, puts the privacy of innocent people at risk, disrupts confidential communications and paves the way for an ever-increasing mass accumulation of information about the entire population.

Legal experts expect the European Court of Justice to follow the Constitutional Court of Romania as well as the European Court of Human Rights's Marper judgement and declare the retention of telecommunications data in the absence of any suspicion incompatible with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

As representatives of the citizens, the media, professionals and industry we collectively reject the Directive on telecommunications data retention. We urge you to propose the repeal of the EU requirements regarding data retention in favour of a system of expedited preservation and targeted collection of traffic data as agreed in the Council of Europe's Convention on Cybercrime. In doing so, please be assured of our support.

Yours faithfully,

Signatories (name, organisation, country)

1. Gergana Jouleva for the Access to Information Programme, Bulgaria
2. Terri Dowty for Action on Rights for Children, UK
3. Rainer Hammerschmidt for Aktion Freiheit statt Angst e.V., Germany
4. Andrea Monti for ALCEI - Electronic Frontiers Italy, Italy
5. David Banisar for ARTICLE 19: Global Campaign for Free Expression, UK
6. Dr. Roland Lemye for Association Belge des Syndicats Médicaux, Belgium
7. Alen Nanov for the Association for Advising, Treatment, Resocialization and Reintegration of Drug Users and Other Marginalized and Vulnerable Groups IZBOR, Macedonia
8. Bogdan Manolea for the Association for Technology and Internet - APTI, Romania
9. Martine Simonis for L'association Générale des Journalistes Professionnels de Belgique (AGJPB), Belgium
10. Ute Groth for bdfj Bundesvereinigung der Fachjournalisten e.V., Germany
11. Ot van Daalen for Bits of Freedom, The Netherlands
12. Gabriele Nicolai for Berufsverband Deutscher Psychologinnen und Psychologen e.V., Germany
13. Marina Jelic for Center for Peace and Democracy Development CPDD, Serbia
14. Sabiha Husic for Citizens' Association Medica Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina
15. Zdenko Duka for the Croatian Journalists' Association CJA, Croatia
16. Christian Jeitler for Cyber Liberties Union, Austria
17. Vagn Jelsoe for the Danish Consumer Council, Denmark
18. Stefanie Severin for DFJV Deutscher Fachjournalisten-Verband AG, Germany
19. Karl Lemmen, Deutsche AIDS-Hilfe e.V., Germany
20. Ulrich Janßen for Deutsche Journalistinnen- und Journalisten-Union dju in ver.di, Germany
21. Michael Konken for Deutscher Journalisten-Verband, Germany
22. Martina Haan for DPV Deutscher Presse Verband – Verband für Journalisten e.V., Germany
23. TJ McIntyre for Digital Rights Ireland, Ireland
24. Eleni Alevritou for EKPIZO Consumers Association the Quality of Life, Greece
25. Ville Oksanen for Electronic Frontier Finland, Finland
26. Thomas Gramstad for Electronic Frontier Norway, Norway
27. Máté Dániel Szabó for Eötvös Károly Institute, Hungary
28. Andreas Krisch for European Digital Rights, Europe
29. Anne Margrethe Lund, European Movement in Norway, Norway
30. Simona Conservas for exgae, Spain
31. padeluun for FoeBuD e.V., Germany
32. Beate Ziegler for Forum Menschenrechte, Germany
33. Stephan Uhlmann for the Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII) e.V., Europe
34. Valentina Pellizzer for Foundation Oneworld - platform for Southeast Europe (owpsee), Bosnia & Herzegovina
35. Ross Anderson for FIPR Foundation for Information Policy Research, UK
36. Lutz Donnerhacke for FITUG e.V., Germany
37. Matthias Kirschner for Free Software Foundation Europe FSFE, Europe
38. Martin Grauduszus for Freie Ärzteschaft e.V., Germany
39. Jürgen Wahlmann for GameParents.de e.V., Germany
40. Christoph Klug for Gesellschaft für Datenschutz und Datensicherheit e.V. (GDD), Germany
41. Arvind Ganesan for Human Rights Watch, international
42. Joyce Hes for Humanistisch Verbond, The Netherlands
43. Sven Lüders for Humanistische Union e.V., Germany
44. Dr. Balázs Dénes for the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, Hungary
45. Dr. Rolf Gössner for Internationale Liga für Menschenrechte (Berlin), Germany
46. Rudi Vansnick for Internet Society Belgium, Belgium
47. Veni Markovski for the Internet Society Bulgaria, Bulgaria
48. Gérard Dantec for the Internet Society France, France
49. Jan Willem Broekema for Internet Society, The Netherlands
50. Marcin Cieślak for the Internet Society Poland, Poland
51. Eamonn Wallace for IrelandOffline, Ireland
52. Mark Kelly for the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, Ireland
53. Markéta Nováková for Iuridicum Remedium, Czech Republic
54. Elke Steven for the Komitee für Grundrechte und Demokratie, Germany
55. Jo Glanville for Index on Censorship, UK
56. Georges Pécontal for the Internet Society France, France
57. Milan Antonijevic for Koalicija za slobodu pristupa informacijama (Coalition for Free Access to Information), Serbia
58. Agata Szczerbiak for Krytyka Polityczna (Political Critic), Poland
59. Jérémie Zimmermann for La Quadrature du Net, France
60. Milan Antonijevic for Lawyers Commitee for Human Rights YUCOM, Serbia
61. Astrid Thienpont for Liga voor Mensenrechten (Human Rights League), Belgium
62. Klaus Jetz for Lesben- und Schwulenverband LSVD, Germany
63. Manuel Lambert for Ligue des droits de l’Homme (Human Rights League), Belgium
64. Bardhyl Jashari for Metamorphosis Foundation, Macedonia
65. Christian Bahls for MOGiS e.V., Germany
66. Dennis Grabowski for naiin - no abuse in internet e.V., Germany
67. Thomas Bruning for Nederlandse Vereniging van Journalisten, The Netherlands
68. Harry Hummel for Netherlands Helsinki Committee, The Netherlands
69. Albrecht Ude for netzwerk recherche e.V., Germany
70. Christine Nordmann for Neue Richtervereinigung e.V., Germany
71. Phil Booth for NO2ID, UK
72. Jim Killock for Open Rights Group, UK
73. Katarzyna Szymielewicz for Panoptykon Foundation, Poland
74. Simon Davies for Privacy International, UK
75. Mag. Georg Markus Kainz for q/uintessenz, Austria
76. Christian Rickerts for Reporter ohne Grenzen e.V., Germany
77. Jean Francois Julliard for Reporters Sans Frontières, international
78. Carsten Gericke for Republikanischer Anwältinnen- und Anwälteverein e.V., Germany
79. Walter van Holst for ScriptumLibre Foundation/Stichting Vrijschrift.org, The Netherlands
80. Tony Bunyan for Statewatch, UK
81. Janet de Jonge for Stichting Meldpunt Misbruik ID-plicht, The Netherlands
82. Hans van der Giessen for the board of Stichting NBIP - Nationale Beheersorganisatie Internet Providers, The Netherlands
83. Lars-Henrik Paarup Michelsen for Stopp Datalagringsdirektivet, Norway
84. Paul Jansen for The dotindividual Foundation, The Netherlands
85. Karin Ajaxon for the Julia Group, Sweden
86. Bernadette Ségol for UNI europa, Belgium
87. Frank Bsirske for United Services Union (ver.di - Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft), Germany
88. Dr. Carla Meyer for Verband der Freien Lektorinnen und Lektoren VFLL e.V., Germany
89. Dr. Werner Weishaupt for Verband freier Psychotherapeuten, Heilpraktiker für Psychotherapie und Psychologischer Berater e.V., Germany
90. Gerd Billen for Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband e.V., Germany
91. Prof. Dr. Wulf Dietrich for Verein demokratischer Ärztinnen und Ärzte, Germany
92. Anna Bauer for Vereinigung Demokratischer Juristinnen und Juristen e.V., Germany
93. Arnout Veenman for the Vereniging ISPConnect Nederland, The Netherlands
94. Miek Wijnberg for Vereniging Vrijbit, The Netherlands
95. Daniel Jahre for Verein Linuxwochen, Austria
96. Claudio Agosti for the Winston Smith Project, Italy

Background

More information on data retention