Europe’s telecom industry would like to have a common position on...

Telecom Assn. At an informal Sept. 8-9 JHA Council event called by the U.K. Presidency, ministers, law enforcement officials and industry representatives will discuss the Council’s controversial draft framework decision on data retention, he said. It’s unclear whether the talks will include a proposed directive about to emerge from the European Commission (EC) as well. Communications services providers (CSPs) say data preservation, not retention, is the way to help law enforcement, claiming there’s no need to hold massive amounts of traffic data, Bazzanella said. But European CSPs seem divided on whether to harmonize national data retention laws with EU law, he said. In countries that have tough data retention rules, CSPs see harmonization as easing regulation. But in countries where CSPs and law enforcement cooperate smoothly even without data retention laws, providers fear a directive or framework decision could mean stiffer requirements, Bazzanella said. Italy, which boasts one of Europe’s strictest data retention regimes, recently enacted antiterrorism legislation that, among other things, requires all telephony providers to store traffic data until Dec. 31, 2007. Providers of public Internet access also must retain users’ data, said digital policy consultant Andrea Glorioso. ISPs must hold the data for at last 6 months, a period that can be extended 6 more months. The law mandates identification of mobile telephone users before service actually is activated, whether at the moment of the order or when the SIM is handed over, he said. Owners of Internet cafes and public telephone shops with at least 3 terminals must get permits within 30 days from local Ministry of Home Affairs representatives and store all customer traffic data. Wi- Fi points and locations that don’t store traffic data will have to demand users show identification, a practice already used at some Italian airport hotspots, Glorioso said. Legally, Bazzanelle said, the new provisions enable traffic data retention by outlawing relevant data protection provisions until the end of 2007. The law doesn’t contain specific rules for Internet traffic data, but calls for telephony providers to store all failed dial attempts, a stipulation whose high cost riles telcos. Ministers agreed, however, to hold a further debate on the costs and allocation of costs caused by the requirement, “while excluding any financial reimbursement by the State.” Glorioso said some provisions -- such as an obligation for Internet public points to hold user data -- aren’t “that bad,” but the public and private sectors “completely lack the necessary resources to put the law in practice.” Italian politicians often take a short-term approach, he said. With the 2006 elections near, pols seek “public visibility and emotional impact, not the practical viability of these measures. The Italian govt. was under pressure to act against terrorism before the Aug. parliamentary break, said Marco Berliri, a telecom attorney with Lovells in Rome. Because data retention at the EU level remains only a proposal, the govt. felt it needed an emergency law. But Berliri said the measure is a law decree, which will dissolve unless approved by Parliament.