Germany’s highest court overturned a law passed by the European Union requiring phone and e-mail providers to retain e-mail, landline, and mobile phone records for six months.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10462117-38.html?tag=nl.e703
This is a developing area of the law in the U.S. also. People caught up in lawsuits can be in for a rude awakening when their e-mails, texts, Internet postings, and social networking pages are offered into evidence. Some of these data can be difficult to secure, however, because providers often delete it after a short period of time. Courts and legislators are wrestling with the privacy issues raised by these new methods of communications. The best policy is not to transmit anything unless you would be comfortable reading it on a billboard on the way to work.
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Germany’s highest court Tuesday overturned laws that allowed anti-terror authorities to retain data on telephone calls and e-mails, stating it was an intrusion of Citizens’ personal privacy.
Where Did U.S. Government Put Your NSA-Wiretapped Phone, Fax and Private Email Communications? Neither Congress nor the courts—determined what NSA electronic surveillance could be used by police or introduced into court by U.S. Government to prosecute Citizens and e.g., foreign businesses doing business in America. It appears NSA can share its electronic-domestic-spying with countless U.S. police agencies; including government contracted companies and private individuals that have security clearances to facilitate criminal and civil prosecutions that may include forfeiture of Americans’ property—-to keep part of the assets. Police too easily can take an innocent person’s “wiretapped” hastily written email, fax or phone call out of context to allege a crime or violation was committed. There are over 200 U.S. laws and violations mentioned in the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of 2000 and the Patriot Act that can subject property to civil asset forfeiture.” Under federal civil forfeiture laws, a person or business need not be charged with a crime for government to forfeit their property. Government is required only to show “A preponderance of Evidence” to civilly forfeit assets. Rep. Henry Hyde’s bill HR 1658 passed, the “Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of 2000” and effectively eliminated the “statue of limitations” for Government Civil Asset Forfeiture. The statute now runs five years from when police allege they “learned” that an asset became subject to forfeiture. President Obama’s recently signed Executive Order EO 12425 that will allow INTERPOL to act within the United States without being subject to 4th Amendment laws against illegal Search and Seizure. U.S. Police may circumvent Fourth Amendment protections by bringing INTERPOL into a criminal or civil investigation to spy, make arrests and to forfeit assets from persons in the U.S. that may be shared with U.S. police.