VALENTINA POP
Civil rights watchdogs
and MEPs have attacked new EU plans to gather data on people who voice
or share "radical messages" in a bid to pre-empt terrorist attacks.
[euobserver.com] Political activists labelled as "Extreme right/left, Islamist,
nationalist or anti-globalisation" may in future find themselves under
surveillance in line with a new, so-called, EU "data compilation
instrument" put at the disposal of police and security forces in member
states.
The 70-question long "instrument," covering
ideologies, dissemination channels, personal and professional data on
"agents," would help police and security officials gather comparable
intelligence across the EU, which could later be pooled together into a
single data base.
Although non-binding, the guidelines can legitimise police
co-operation and new practices in the member states. The instrument was made
public last month by Statewatch, a civil liberties watchdog, after
being agreed by EU ministers in April. (more on euobserver.com)
