Slovaks Battle Over Data Retention

Who doesn't want the government looking over their shoulder?

EFF welcomes a strong voice in the fight against data retention mandates: on Wednesday, a group of Slovak MPs filed a complaint challenging the constitutionality of Slovakia's mandatory data retention law. The law compels telcos and ISPs to monitor the communications of all citizens including those not suspected or convicted of any crime, and in case law enforcement officials demand them for any reason.

The complaint also requests that, if necessary, the court should challenge the validity of the larger European data retention directive before the Court of Justice of the European Union. The Data Retention Directive, adopted in 2006, forces Member States of the European Union to adopt laws that would compel ISPs and telecommunications service providers operating in Europe to collect and retain a subscriber's incoming and outgoing phone numbers, IP addresses, location data, and other key telecom and Internet traffic data for a period of 6 months to 2 years.