European Union Puts Premium On PrivacyEuropean Union Puts Premium On Privacy

The European Parliament voted last week to strengthen data privacy and protection laws, rebuffing the wishes of President Bush, who urged European Union leaders to revise the bill and allow authorities wider access to data about E-mail and telephone communications in the fight against terrorism. The request, one of 47 that Bush sent to European leaders in a confidential letter last month, asked the EU to require telecom and Internet service providers to retain data about the length and time of electronic and phone communications beyond the time required for billing purposes. That's not even something U.S. companies are required to do, say civil liberties groups opposed to Bush's request.

The bill passed by the 15-nation EU last week lets authorities override data-protection provisions on a case-by-case basis and only in exceptional situations regarding criminal offenses and national or public security. The bill prohibits "any form of wide-scale general or exploratory surveillance."