A European Union directive, which Britain was instrumental in devising, comes into force which will require all internet service providers to retain information on email traffic, visits to web sites and telephone calls made over the internet, for 12 months.
Hundreds of public bodies … will also be able to access the data to investigate flytipping and other less serious crimes.
… a Home Office spokesman has confirmed it will be applied “across the board” to even the smallest company
Besides the opportunity for abuses, collecting these records and keeping them safe is a large new burden that will likely fall hardest on the smallest companies. Apparently “Sweden has decided to ignore the directive completely while there is a challenge going through the German courts at present.”
Thanks: The Agitator