Sweden's data retention delays must end.

• Position: LEGAL - Brief article

Sweden is the last holdout in implementing a 2006 measure requiring telecom providers to retain customer phone and e-mail records, and the European Court of Justice is not happy.

In April 2009, the European Commission (EC) filed suit against Sweden in the European Court of Justice, and the court determined that Sweden must implement the European Union (EU) Data Retention Directive. The court also ordered Sweden to pay all court costs.

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The directive, approved by Brussels in March 2006, requires member states to pass laws mandating telecoms to collect and retain data about their customers' Internet and phone use.

Four years after the law was passed, Sweden has not implemented it. The Swedish government assured the court that the EU directive would become law in Sweden on April 1...