European ministers agree on spam ban, cookie rules
European telecommunication ministers agreed Thursday that unsolicited e-mail and wireless text messages should be prohibited under a new data protection law. They also agreed to allow leeway for law enforcement to access logs of e-mail and telephone traffic.
The positions put the ministers at odds with the European Parliament, which two weeks ago voted in favor of tighter controls on law enforcement access to these logs, and against a ban on spam.
Belgium's telecommunication minister Rik Daems, who chaired Thursday's meeting, would not reveal the exact wording of the agreed position. He warned that the negotiations on the issue with Parliament will be "tough."
The Council of Ministers and the European Parliament are the two legislative bodies with power to make European Union laws.
EU heads of state agreed last year on an aggressive legislation drive to make Europe the most competitive economy in the world within 10 years. One element was to settle telecom legislation, including data protection issues, by the end of 2001.
The ministers also agreed on a legal basis for the use of cookies, calling for Web sites to give consumers prior notice that they are placing cookies on their PCs, and banning the use of spy cookies, which extract information from a PC and send it to the site placing them.
Two years ago, the EU's executive branch, the European Commission, made it mandatory for service providers to destroy Internet and telephone call logs after the end of every billing period. Commissioner Erkki Liikanen said Thursday that the Council's decision to allow greater law enforcement access to data still remains within the scope of what is allowed under the European Convention on Human Rights. But he added that uncertainty remains concerning what is an "appropriate and proportionate" retention of data.
Daems has until the middle of next week to find a compromise between the Parliament and the Council of Ministers. If he fails, the Parliament will vote on the issue in a plenary session and will almost certainly reject the Council's Thursday decision. This would push the two legislative bodies into a conciliation process, chaired by the European Commission.
IDG News Service
Symantec Backup Exec 12 and Backup Exec System Recovery 8 deliver industry leading Windows data protection and system recovery. Download this whitepaper to find out the top reasons to upgrade and how to get continuous data protection and complete system recovery.
Data and system loss — from a hard drive failure, malicious attack, natural disaster, or simple human error — can happen anytime. Don’t leave your business vulnerable. Make sure you have a secure recovery strategy in place. Symantec's latest backup and system recovery technology can efficiently restore critical applications, individual emails and documents and even restore your entire system in minutes in the event of a loss.
Businesses face a growing challenge to ensure that the IT environment is properly protected. Backup Exec 12 integrates with other applications in the Symantec family of products, to complement your current data protection strategy, keep your data securely backed up and make it recoverable when you need it most.
Crimeware: Understanding New Attacks and Defenses
By Markus Jakobsson, Zulfikar Ramzan
Published Apr 6, 2008 by Addison-Wesley Professional. Part of the Symantec Press series.
Enter now! | Official rules | Sample chapter
Securing VoIP Networks: Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Countermeasures
By Peter Thermos, Ari Takanen
Published Aug 1, 2007 by Addison-Wesley Professional.
Enter now! | Official rules | Sample chapter
