Funferal

Data retention mission creep

Terrorism. Organised crime. File sharing. Just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it? That’s what the music industry seems to think in Europe, where they are lobbying for the proposed data retention directive to be

extended to cover all criminal offences, including piracy, and not just “serious” crimes, as the original proposal states.

The aim, as originally stated, of the directive, is to aid governments in their fight against terrorism and organised crime in the radically different world in which we live, etc., etc. If the music industry gets its way – and the UK, which holds the EU presidency until the end of the month, has indicated its support – the new surveillance processes will also be used against file-sharing and other copyright infringements.

human rights campaigners call it an example of the mission creep of draconian new anti-terror powers.
Even the Bush administration is not proposing such a ludicrous policy, despite lobbying from Hollywood, Gus Hosein, a senior fellow at Privacy International, told The Guardian.