Court scraps Netherlands' law.

• Position: PRIVACY - Brief article

A judge in The Hague recently struck down the Netherlands' data retention law, saying that it breaches the privacy of telephone and Internet users. The Dutch law required telephone companies to store information about all fixed and mobile phone calls for a year and Internet providers to store information on customers' Internet use for six months, reported The Guardian. The intent was to make the data available for use by law enforcement.

The judge acknowledged that scrapping the data "could have far-reaching consequences for investigating and prosecuting crimes," but added that it did not...