German court narrows data retention rules.

• Author: Swartz, Nikki
• Position: UP FRONT - Brief article

Germany's highest court has revised the country's recently passed data retention directive targeting Internet service providers (ISPs) and telecom companies. Calling the law "potentially intimidating," the Federal Constitutional Court ruled March 19 that citizens' information still can be stored; however, it can be accessed only with a warrant and only in the case of serious crimes.

Germany's data retention law, which became effective December 2007, requires phone companies to store various kinds of personal phone and Internet data, including customer e-mail addresses, numbers dialed, and time and location of calls, for at least six months and to provide this information to investigators who request it.

The law, which was passed in accordance with a March 2006 European Union guideline, was controversial from the start: 30,000 Germans promptly filed a class action suit when it passed, concerned about the privacy implications. In its ruling, the court called parts of the law unconstitutional. Although it decided to uphold the retention requirement, it instituted much stricter safeguards around who can access the...