German parliament passes controversial telecom surveillance law
The German parliament approved a highly controversial law on Friday to toughen telecommunications surveillance in a bid to combat crimes and terrorism.
The new law, passed by the Bundestag, the lower house of the German parliament, will allow telephone and Internet data to be stored for up to six months.
The data include telephone numbers, cellphone locations, and the times and dates of the calls. The content of telephone conversations will not be stored.
The new measure, which will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2008, will also allows German law enforcement authorities to bug telephone conversations of lawyers, journalists and doctors in investigations into serious crimes after obtaining a court order. Access to emails and other internet data will be permissible from 2009.
The law has triggered outcry from German associations of doctors and journalists, which said that they would take measures to examine whether the law violates the constitution.
Speaking of a "black day for civil rights" and a "sad day for democracy," the opposition Greens and the Left Party said that they would file a complaint against the law with the constitution court.
In defending the bill, German Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries said Friday that the amended telecommunications law will not "pave the way towards a surveillance state." The law would enable the authorities to combat crime and terrorism more effectively, she stressed.
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