A key part of Europe's strategy for tackling terrorism and organised crime was put in place yesterday when members of the European Parliament voted in favour of a deal to ensure phone and internet records can be retained for up to two years for use in investigations by law enforcement agencies.
The Home Secretary, Charles Clarke, had made it a priority to reach agreement on the data retention directive by the end of the year. As one of the central goals of the UK's six-month Presidency of the EU, the measure will mean phone and internet records, but not the content of communications are available to the police and judiciary in order to investigate terrorism and serious crime.
The data retained will only be disclosed in specific cases and will be subject to strict data protection rules. Any abuse of the data will be subject to sanctions. Today's deal means member states could begin implementation of the directive as early as next year.
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