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Emergency legislation which allows telecoms companies to retain customer information to be passed at Westminster raises substantial concerns, the Law Society of Scotland has said.
The Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Bill (DRIP) is for companies that provide telephone and internet connections. The legislation makes clear the legal obligations they will have to retain data in relation to their customers- this will include calls made, to whom and at what time and date, but not the content of the communications.
The Bill, which does not include the content of such communications, was passed by parliament on 15th July 2014.
Tim Musson, convener of the Law Society's privacy law committee, said:
"The Bill will reinstate powers to the police which are based on legislation derived from a European Union Directive which the European Court of Justice has said is invalid. We have substantial concerns that this legislation is going through the UK Parliament at such a speed that it will not be subjected to the level of scrutiny that each parliamentary stage usually requires. The convener also described how in April, the European Court of Justice handed down a ruling that communications companies did not have to adhere to the 2006 Data Retention Directive, which states that they should keep data on their customers for between six months and two years. He states that the ruling by the ECJ is important and the proposed legislation should thus be subject to proper scrutiny to ensure the law is correct and also to maintain public confidence. Musson added; “There will certainly be many people asking how, if the EU Directive has been declared illegal, the new legislation can be legal."
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