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The European Union's mandatory Communications Traffic Data Retention Directive is creeping towards implementation in the UK - see the Data Retention Is No Solution wiki for a European Union perspective of opposition to this Directive.

This dubious plan intends to force telecomms and internet companies keep billions of data records from logfiles and itemised billing systems etc., on all 450 million innocent citizens of the European Union for at least 12 months, even when, under the normal principles of Data Protection and good business practice, such records should have been destroyed.

[hat tip to Clive Feather via the UK Crypto email list]:

Consultation on the initial transposition of the European Directive (2006/24/EC) on the retention of communications data

This consultation paper invites views on the draft Regulations that we propose to use for the initial transposition of European Directive 2006/24/EC on the retention of data generated or processed in connection with the provision of publicly available electronic communications services or of public communications networks and amending Directive 2002/58/EC.

We welcome comments on the draft Regulations - which concern only fixed line and mobile telephony - before we prepare the Regulations to be laid before Parliament for approval later this year.

The Consultation ends on 11 June 2007.

Download the consultation document:
Consultation on the initial transposition of the European Directive (2006/24/EC) on the retention of communications data (.pdf 2.4Mb 30 pages)

N.B. this document uses non-standard fonts, so you may have difficulty trying to copy and paste text from it

These proposed Regulations could be the opportunity not to renew the so called Voluntary Scheme of Communications Data Retention under the botched Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 Part 11 Retention of Communications Data, when its "sunset clause" runs out again this December 2007.

1.4 The date for transposition of the Directive is 15 September 2007, however the Government has made a declaration in accordance with Article 15(3) of the Directive that it will postpone its application to the retention of communications data relating to internet access, internet telephony and internet e-mail until no later than 15 March 2009.

Several other EU Governments are also delaying this aspect of the Directive as well., so the Regulations which are being proposed only deal with mobile phone and fixed landline PSTN telephony.