Europe Seeks to Tighten Some Online Laws

Via Physorg.com -

(AP) -- Some European countries are proposing outlawing the use of fake information to open e-mail accounts or set up Web sites, a move intended to help terror investigations but which could face resistance on a privacy-conscious continent.

The German and Dutch governments have taken the lead on the proposals, crafting legislation that would make it illegal to provide false information to Internet service providers and require phone companies to save detailed records on customer usage.

The aim, analysts say, is to make it easier for law enforcement to access information when they investigate crimes or terrorist attacks.

But Europeans have long cherished their privacy, railing against measures that would see personal information stored for commercial use or government examination. "The people of Europe have a long record of fighting for their personal freedom, and are unlikely to accept such regulations being imposed upon them," said Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant with the London-based consulting group Sophos. "

No one disagrees with the need to take decisive action against terrorism and organized crime, but to introduce such restrictive surveillance on the general public and Internet companies - without proper safeguards in place - seems positively Orwellian," he said this past week.

Look Christian, 42, who works at an Internet cafe in Berlin, said it's his business - not the government's - if he wants to set up an anonymous e-mail account. "

I understand that the police might want to hunt people down on the Internet, and I wish them luck, but it's not going to happen through anonymous Internet accounts," he said.