The European Union is close to the introduction of monitoring search queries

From April 19 to September 9, 2010, a union among deputies of the European Parliament is collecting signatures for declaration 29 ( PDF ), which proposes extending the data retention directive for search engines. This directive, which is at different stages of implementation in different EU countries, obliges Internet providers and mobile operators to keep private information about their users and to provide it at the request of the police. If they accept declaration 29, the requirement will also expand to search queries, that is, providers will also keep the search history of every citizen in relation to his identity.

The collection of signatures under the declaration goes under the sign of protecting children, as usual. It is assumed that the early monitoring of Internet requests will allow to identify pedophiles before they committed the offense.

The declaration is considered adopted if more than half of the parliamentarians, of whom there are 736 people, sign it. According to the online counter , there are already 324 signatures already collected.

In order to prevent the adoption of the document, every citizen of the European Union is offered to write a letter to his deputy with a request to withdraw the signature. The progress of the fight for you can follow the blog of Christian Engström , a deputy from the Pirate Party. If not for him, perhaps the general public would not have learned about the new initiative of the European Parliament.