Tap into anti-terrorism directives
In December, the EU parliament is expected to vote to extend data retention requirements in the EU from 3 months to a maximum of one year in an effort to combat terrorism. Currently companies in the telecommunication and internet access industries are required to keep detailed data on communications for at least three months so that law enforcement can examine these records if they're needed. Call data must include the names, numbers, and address of the callers, start and end time of the call, and SIM card information in the case of mobile usage. ISPs must keep log-on and log-off times, IP addresses, email headers, sites visited, and billing information. Member states such as Britain would like to see this period extended to an entire year, and it looks as though passage of the directive is likely (curiously, the law has little support in the UK itself, but politicians hope to get it through the back door by making it EU law).
However, in a move that is becoming increasingly common, an industry group representing content giants such as Sony BMG, Disney, Time Warner, and EMI, would like to see this data opened up for use in less serious situations, such as, oh, say, copyright infringement? The Creative and Media Business Alliance (CMBA) believes that it is fundamentally wrong to limit these tools to fighting terrorism.
"The data retention directive was proposed to fight terrorism. As ill-conceived as the original legislation was, this should never be used to fight the music and film industries' battles at the expense of the taxpayer," said Suw Charman, executive director of the Open Rights Group. "The music industry's attempt to hijack this legislation is a travesty and a gross affront to civil liberties and human rights."
he Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive 2 (IPRED2) contains language that would criminalize all copyright infringement done for commercial gain, or even "attempting, aiding or abetting and inciting such infringement."
Privacy advocates also say that giving this kind of access to commercial concerns as opposed to legitimate government security concerns is like asking for abuse. Armed with this kind of data, it would be very easy for companies to profile individuals, including the sites they visit, who they e-mail, and how much time they spend online.