DRletter
Recipients
- Cecilia Malmström, European Commissioner for Home Affairs, BE-1049 Brussels, Belgium
- Viviane Reding, European Commission Vice-President with responsibility for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, BE-1049 Brussels, Belgium
- 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)
- Gergana Jouleva for the Access to Information Programme, Bulgaria
- Terri Dowty for Action on Rights for Children, UK
- Rainer Hammerschmidt for Aktion Freiheit statt Angst e.V., Germany
- Andrea Monti for ALCEI - Electronic Frontiers Italy, Italy
- David Banisar for ARTICLE 19: Global Campaign for Free Expression, UK
- Dr. Roland Lemye for Association Belge des Syndicats Médicaux, Belgium
- Alen Nanov for the Association for Advising, Treatment, Resocialization and Reintegration of Drug Users and Other Marginalized and Vulnerable Groups IZBOR, Macedonia
- Bogdan Manolea for the Association for Technology and Internet - APTI, Romania
- Martine Simonis for L'association Générale des Journalistes Professionnels de Belgique (AGJPB), Belgium
- Ute Groth for bdfj Bundesvereinigung der Fachjournalisten e.V., Germany
- Ot van Daalen for Bits of Freedom, The Netherlands
- Gabriele Nicolai for Berufsverband Deutscher Psychologinnen und Psychologen e.V., Germany
- Marina Jelic for Center for Peace and Democracy Development CPDD, Serbia
- Sabiha Husic for Citizens' Association Medica Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Zdenko Duka for the Croatian Journalists' Association CJA, Croatia
- Christian Jeitler for Cyber Liberties Union, Austria
- Vagn Jelsoe for the Danish Consumer Council, Denmark
- Stefanie Severin for DFJV Deutscher Fachjournalisten-Verband AG, Germany
- Karl Lemmen, Deutsche AIDS-Hilfe e.V., Germany
- Ulrich Janßen for Deutsche Journalistinnen- und Journalisten-Union dju in ver.di, Germany
- Michael Konken for Deutscher Journalisten-Verband, Germany
- Martina Haan for DPV Deutscher Presse Verband – Verband für Journalisten e.V., Germany
- TJ McIntyre for Digital Rights Ireland, Ireland
- Eleni Alevritou for EKPIZO Consumers Association the Quality of Life, Greece
- Ville Oksanen for Electronic Frontier Finland, Finland
- Thomas Gramstad for Electronic Frontier Norway, Norway
- Máté Dániel Szabó for Eötvös Károly Institute, Hungary
- Andreas Krisch for European Digital Rights, Europe
- Anne Margrethe Lund, European Movement in Norway, Norway
- Simona Conservas for exgae, Spain
- padeluun for FoeBuD e.V., Germany
- Beate Ziegler for Forum Menschenrechte, Germany
- Stephan Uhlmann for the Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII) e.V., Europe
- Valentina Pellizzer for Foundation Oneworld - platform for Southeast Europe (owpsee), Bosnia & Herzegovina
- Ross Anderson for FIPR Foundation for Information Policy Research, UK
- Lutz Donnerhacke for FITUG e.V., Germany
- Matthias Kirschner for Free Software Foundation Europe FSFE, Europe
- Martin Grauduszus for Freie Ärzteschaft e.V., Germany
- Jürgen Wahlmann for GameParents.de e.V., Germany
- Christoph Klug for Gesellschaft für Datenschutz und Datensicherheit e.V. (GDD), Germany
- Arvind Ganesan for Human Rights Watch, international
- Joyce Hes for Humanistisch Verbond, The Netherlands
- Sven Lüders for Humanistische Union e.V., Germany
- Dr. Balázs Dénes for the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, Hungary
- Dr. Rolf Gössner for Internationale Liga für Menschenrechte (Berlin), Germany
- Rudi Vansnick for Internet Society Belgium, Belgium
- Veni Markovski for the Internet Society Bulgaria, Bulgaria
- Gérard Dantec for the Internet Society France, France
- Jan Willem Broekema for Internet Society, The Netherlands
- Marcin Cieślak for the Internet Society Poland, Poland
- Eamonn Wallace for IrelandOffline, Ireland
- Mark Kelly for the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, Ireland
- Markéta Nováková for Iuridicum Remedium, Czech Republic
- Elke Steven for the Komitee für Grundrechte und Demokratie, Germany
- Jo Glanville for Index on Censorship, UK
- Georges Pécontal for the Internet Society France, France
- Milan Antonijevic for Koalicija za slobodu pristupa informacijama (Coalition for Free Access to Information), Serbia
- Agata Szczerbiak for Krytyka Polityczna (Political Critic), Poland
- Jérémie Zimmermann for La Quadrature du Net, France
- Milan Antonijevic for Lawyers Commitee for Human Rights YUCOM, Serbia
- Astrid Thienpont for Liga voor Mensenrechten (Human Rights League), Belgium
- Klaus Jetz for Lesben- und Schwulenverband LSVD, Germany
- Manuel Lambert for Ligue des droits de l’Homme (Human Rights League), Belgium
- Bardhyl Jashari for Metamorphosis Foundation, Macedonia
- Christian Bahls for MOGiS e.V., Germany
- Dennis Grabowski for naiin - no abuse in internet e.V., Germany
- Thomas Bruning for Nederlandse Vereniging van Journalisten, The Netherlands
- Harry Hummel for Netherlands Helsinki Committee, The Netherlands
- Albrecht Ude for netzwerk recherche e.V., Germany
- Christine Nordmann for Neue Richtervereinigung e.V., Germany
- Phil Booth for NO2ID, UK
- Jim Killock for Open Rights Group, UK
- Katarzyna Szymielewicz for Panoptykon Foundation, Poland
- Simon Davies for Privacy International, UK
- Mag. Georg Markus Kainz for q/uintessenz, Austria
- Christian Rickerts for Reporter ohne Grenzen e.V., Germany
- Jean Francois Julliard for Reporters Sans Frontières, international
- Carsten Gericke for Republikanischer Anwältinnen- und Anwälteverein e.V., Germany
- Walter van Holst for ScriptumLibre Foundation/Stichting Vrijschrift.org, The Netherlands
- Tony Bunyan for Statewatch, UK
- Janet de Jonge for Stichting Meldpunt Misbruik ID-plicht, The Netherlands
- Hans van der Giessen for the board of Stichting NBIP - Nationale Beheersorganisatie Internet Providers, The Netherlands
- Lars-Henrik Paarup Michelsen for Stopp Datalagringsdirektivet, Norway
- Paul Jansen for The dotindividual Foundation, The Netherlands
- Karin Ajaxon for the Julia Group, Sweden
- Bernadette Ségol for UNI europa, Belgium
- Frank Bsirske for United Services Union (ver.di - Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft), Germany
- Dr. Carla Meyer for Verband der Freien Lektorinnen und Lektoren VFLL e.V., Germany
- Dr. Werner Weishaupt for Verband freier Psychotherapeuten, Heilpraktiker für Psychotherapie und Psychologischer Berater e.V., Germany
- Gerd Billen for Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband e.V., Germany
- Prof. Dr. Wulf Dietrich for Verein demokratischer Ärztinnen und Ärzte, Germany
- Anna Bauer for Vereinigung Demokratischer Juristinnen und Juristen e.V., Germany
- Arnout Veenman for the Vereniging ISPConnect Nederland, The Netherlands
- Miek Wijnberg for Vereniging Vrijbit, The Netherlands
- Daniel Jahre for Verein Linuxwochen, Austria
- Claudio Agosti for the Winston Smith Project, Italy