Digital Rights Ireland have reproduced an excellent article discussing the impact the Data Protection Act has on our rights to privacy.  The article was Published in the Irish Daily Mail written by Fergal Crehan, a barrister specialising in Internet law.  It is also interesting to note that the UK Information Commissioner, their version of the Data Protection Commissioner, has called the UK implementation of Data Retention “a step too far“. 

Sweden is being taken to the European Court over its recent introduction of a law allowing their security forces to eavesdrop on all international calls into and out of Sweden.  Meanwhile in the United States the government there is facing lawsuits over tracking of mobile phones by the US Justice Department and the recently signed Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Amendments Act.   

All of the above laws have been introduced to protect us from the threats posed by serious crime and terrorism but at the cost of the erosion of our rights to privacy and liberty.  While we need to introduce measures to protect us from those threats we need to do so in a way that protects the rights of all citizens and we should use this as a turning point to ensure that the appropriate safeguards are put in place.