The
Government is said to be about to introduce measures demanded by
the EU Data Retention Directive by a statutory instrument and not
through parliament, the Oireachtas. Digital Rights Ireland (DRI)
has opposed the move.
"It is incredible that the Government proposes to introduce a
law which would require every internet user to be monitored without
any warrant or prior judicial approval, without any public
consultation and without any debate or vote in the Oireachtas,"
said TJ McIntyre, chairman of DRI. "A law of this gravity should
not be made by stealth."
The Data Retention Directive demands that EU member states order
ISPs and telcos to keep records of what emails, internet use and
phone call activity has come from what accounts.
The Directive does not order firms to retain the content of the
communications, just the time and destination of usage and calls.
Countries can order companies to keep data for any period, as long
as it is between six and 24 months.
The Irish government is reportedly planning to implement the
Directive in a matter of weeks using a statutory instrument rather
than pushing a new law through parliament.
"The Department of Justice appears to be relying on the urgency
of the matter to justify bypassing the Dail and Seanad [the two
houses of the Oireachtas]," said McIntyre. "But the European law
being implemented was passed in February 2006. The Department has
had two years to introduce a Bill and it cannot rely on its own
delay to justify sidelining democratic scrutiny."
The Directive was intended to help countries to establish an
evidence trail in prosecutions involving internet use, but has
proved controversial elsewhere in Europe.
In Germany it was subject to a constitutional challenge just
five days after being passed into law. An objection was filed with
the German Constitutional Court on 31st December last year claiming
that the logging of all activity would hinder the work of
journalists, prosecutors and whistleblowers.
The UK Government partially implemented the Directive last year,
passing regulations which mandated the keeping of traffic for 12
months. The regulations do not yet cover internet traffic, though
they must do so by March next year according to European Commission
rules.
Industry body the Federation of Communications Service told
OUT-LAW.COM when the regulations were passed that the information
was retained anyway for billing purposes.
"We are advising our members that they are unlikely to have to
keep any information that they don't currently keep," the body's
Michael Eagle said at the time. "The reality is that nothing much
has changed. The new legislation will make little practical
difference as most telecoms providers keep certain information for
billing purposes and customer records."
