Spiegel on line: Press Freedom Under Attack: Big Brother Eyes German Journalists - Markus Brauck, Marcel Rosenbach and Markus Verbeet
Big Brother Eyes German Journalists - Markus Brauck, Marcel Rosenbach and Markus Verbeet
In the wake of 9/11, European countries have been busy enacting controversial mandatory data retention laws. Now draft legislation by the German government would make it easier to monitor virtually all communications by journalists -- effectively ending source confidentiality and press freedom.
At issue here is a fairly unwieldy piece of draft legislation, namely an amendment to Germany's law on telecommunications surveillance. The government proposal submitted by Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries calls for telecom providers to retain all communications data from their customers, all landline and mobile calls, faxes, text messages and e-mails. This would mean that all electronic communications in Germany would be recorded, whether the parties concerned are under investigation or not.
Labels: EU, Privacy Laws
