Germany passes data retention law.

In November, Germany's parliament, the Bundestag, passed the German Data Retention Law. It incorporates the principles of the EU Data Retention Directive--mainly, the mandatory retention of all telecoms traffic data for law enforcement purposes.

Beginning this year, all communications providers in Germany will be required to store all connection data records for six months. This includes:

* Phone calls: the date, time, length, and numbers of all calls--landline, mobile, or voice over Internet protocol (VoIP)

* Internet access: the IP address, date, time, and length of connection, as well as the line used

* E-mail: addresses involved and headers of each message

The content of the communications will not be stored. However, the data that is stored can be used by authorities--police and secret services--in criminal investigations or online crimes. The goal, according to the government, is to fight terrorism in hopes of preventing potential attacks against European cities, like the London or Madrid bombings.

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According to a statement on the website of the German Federal Ministry of the Interior, "Law enforcement activities must be adapted to the dynamics of technological developments and the boundlessness of technology and networks. On the one hand, they must safeguard effective prevention and prosecution of new criminal offences, while on the other hand, utilize the electronic options available for law enforcement, without infringing upon citizens' rights of freedom."

The law also effectively removes all protection of journalists' sources when it comes to telecom and Internet communications. For this and other reasons, the bill had been heavily criticized by privacy advocates and telecommunications providers. Thousands demonstrated in Berlin opposing the passage of the new law. All opposition parties voted against the bill. They, along with several hundred private protesters, filed a constitutional complaint. Critics now hope to stop the law in Germany's Federal Constitutional Court, which can overrule legislation deemed anti-constitutional.

Since 9/11, many European countries have enacted similar controversial mandatory data retention laws, in accordance with a European Union directive to do so. The legality of the EU Directive is still under consideration by the European Court of Justice, (ECJ) and many critics of the German data retention law said it should be delayed pending the ECJ ruling.