Britain unveils emergency laws to keep email, phone data for security

           
Britain said on Thursday it would rush through emergency legislation to force telecoms firms to retain customer data for a year, calling the move vital for national security following a decision by Europe's top court.             

Communication companies had been required to retain data for 12 months under a 2006 European Union directive but this was thrown out in April by the European Court of Justice on the grounds that it infringed human rights.            

Britain's coalition government said the scrapping of that directive could deprive police and intelligence agencies of access to information about who customers contacted by phone, text or email, and where and when.             

Prime Minister David Cameron said it was vital these powers were not compromised at a time of growing concern over Britons traveling to Iraq and Syria to join militant Islamist groups.               

Those concerns prompted the government to take the unusual step of announcing fast-track legislation which, under a deal brokered behind closed doors between Britain's three major political parties, could become law as soon as next week.          

"This is at the heart of our entire criminal justice system," Cameron told a news conference. "It is used in 95 percent of all serious organized crime cases ... It has been used in every major security service counter-terrorism investigation over the last decade and it is the foundation of prosecution of pedophiles, drug dealers and fraudsters."             

In an effort to deflect criticism that collecting communications data flouted civil liberties, Cameron stressed the emergency law would not grant new powers and would only enshrine existing capabilities in law.            

He said the new legislation would also clarify the grounds under which authorities could request service providers provide the content of calls, emails and text messages, even if the companies holding that data were based overseas.           

"There is now a real risk that legal uncertainty will reduce companies' willingness to comply with UK law, even where they would wish to support us," the Conservative prime minister said. "Some companies are already saying they can no longer work with us unless UK law is clarified immediately."


REUTERS