Association des Services Internet Communautaires (ASIC) Google, eBay Join Fight Against French Data Demands: Tech News and Analysis « Europe’s approach to privacy is notoriously scattershot, with the media and users often reacting — or overreacting — to a constant stream of new rules, regulations and proposals. Sometimes there’s more heat than light, but at other points the consternation seems justified. Take the example of recent uproar in France, where last month the government introduced new data retention rules that have Internet users and businesses up in arms.
Under the new system, sites must keep a record of every visitor’s username, email address and password for a year. Plus they have to keep a file of every time the user interacted with the site, and what they did. Oh, and if they’ve got them, their postal addresses and phone numbers, too. All of it, for 12 months. The files are then to be made available, on request, to all sort of enforcement agencies: the police, fraud investigators, tax officers, social security officials. “Several elements are problematic,” said Benoit Tabaka, ASIC’s general secretary. Internet Giants Take France to Court Over Personal Data Policy. More than 20 Internet companies, including Google, Facebook and eBay, will file a complaint with France's State Council against a decree that obliges them to keep their users' personal data for a year. The French Association of Internet Community Services (ASIC), the body representing these companies, will formally file the appeal. In the past couple of years, French authorities have had a somewhat ambiguous view on user privacy.
France was quick to fine Google $142,000 for privacy violations, after it was revealed that Google collected private data from public Wi-Fi networks. On the other hand, the aforementioned decree, published in March, obliges ecommerce, video and email sites to keep their customers' private data for a year, including their full names, phone numbers, postal addresses and passwords. The French police, the fraud office, customs, tax or social security authorities can demand to view the data. ASIC sees several problems with the decree. Photo courtesy of swanksalot. « L’internet n’a pas besoin d’un CSA du Net » exortent les acteurs du Web - PC INpact.