EU Elected To Save Google Searches

Search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo should store data on Internet searches to combat child pornography. It believes the EU's elected representatives in the EU Parliament. The proposal is part of a Written Statement by two Italian and Slovak politicians have now been supported among their colleagues.

There is however evidence that a proportion of EU politicians do not have guessed what they signed up. The Declaration aims to combat child pornography and one of the ways is to expand the data retention directive "to include search engines to quickly and effectively respond to child pornography and sexual abuse on the Internet." Pre forcing it controversial Directive ISPs and telecommunications companies to store information about telephone calls, SMS and IP addresses that Internet activity.

The campaign for the Declaration has, however, played on feelings without giving good information on the means to combat child pornography.

Two Danish EU politicians, Ole Christensen (S) and Anna established in Rosbach (DF) have removed their signatures from the Declaration, after it dawned on them what they signed up, wrote EU magasint note last week.

Earlier also a Swedish politician Cecilia Wikström, warned to sign the statement because the people behind has not informed properly about the Declaration goals. She complains while the two politicians behind to have a late round email when they ask their colleagues to sign it without mentioning the data storage.

In addition, EU politicians are traditionally skeptical of storing data. During the adoption of data retention directive parliament tried to relax the requirements.

Therefore, there is reason to think that politicians would vote against the declaration if it were a real bill that would lead to new legislation in Europe.

The written statements have become official EU policy in this week's plenary session in Strasbourg, EU politicians have the opportunity to go to a table and sign statements which they share in. The parliamentarians have been very visible in their struggle to get politicians to sign, writes Christian Engstrom, MP for the Swedish Pirate Party.

When a written statement given over half of the elected representatives support, it turns into the parliament's official policy. It is not a definite text, but merely a proposal to impose new rules.

ComON have tried in vain to get on the list of European politicians who had signed the Declaration, to find out if Danish politicians have signed the declaration.

It succeeded, however, since the name list only become public when the President at the next plenary session forwards it to the EU Commission and member end in the Council.