No more data retention!

In response to the criticism published yesterday by more than 30 civil society organisations of EU plans to reintroduce the retention of communications and location data for all citizens, MEP Patrick Breyer (Pirate Party) says:

The Danish scandal over possible miscarriages of justice due to false retained communications data, the hacker attack on telephone companies worldwide – all this proves once again that our security depends on preventing unnecessary, indiscriminate recording of our connections and movements. The EU Commission must finally take legal action against the national laws on data retention that violate our fundamental right to privacy. Studies on this instrument of mass surveillance must be carried out independently and take into account its ineffectiveness with regard to the crime clearance rate. My group wants the European Parliament to look into the latest data retention scandal in Denmark.