propaganda.lege.net/misperceptions/examples/rsf/denmark

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Reporters Without Borders
Denmark

Source:  http://rsf.fr/article.php3?id_article=7133
Or:      http://rsf.fr/print.php3?id_article=7133

19.06.2003



In October 2001, soon after the 11 September attacks, the government moved to fight terrorism with a legislative package that rewrote laws about justice, internal affairs, the economy and taxes. It asked the justice ministry to take steps to legalise retention of phone, e-mail and Internet connection data and to see that police had faster and easier access to such personal information. The 31 May 2002 anti-terrorist law extended the minimum time for data retention to a year and allowed police and intelligence agents to look at such material with court permission where serious crimes were involved and to install on ISP servers software similar to the US Carnivore system to record key-strokes and intercept e-mail.

The Danish presidency of the European Union (EU) tried to impose this approach on other member-states when it made a proposal on 24 June 2002 called "information technology related measures concerning the investigation and prosecution of organised crime." It said all member-states would soon have to take steps to oblige phone companies and ISPs to retain all their traffic records "so security services can readily consult it in the course of their investigations."

In September 2002, the government tempered its restrictive measures by setting up a commission to safeguard citizens' computer rights which was due to make proposals in June 2003.

LINKS :

  *   The organisation Digital Rights:  http://www.digitalrights.dk/

  *   The data protection agency Datatilsynet:  http://www.digitalrights.dk/


Reporters Without Borders defends imprisoned journalists and press freedom throughout the world, as well as the right to inform the public and to be informed, in accordance with Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Reporters Without borders has nine national sections (in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom), representatives in Abidjan, Bangkok, Buenos Aires, Istanbul, Montreal, Moscow, New York, Tokyo and Washington and more than a hundred correspondents worldwide.



© Reporters Without Borders 2002

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