BERLIN, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Proposed legislation in some European nations has been accused of expanding too far beyond an EU directive and threatening citizens' privacy.
Opponents of legislation proposed in both the Netherlands and Germany have called the efforts to increase Internet and phone security an unacceptable breach of individual privacy, the International Herald Tribune reported.
While the Netherlands has proposed phone companies gather detailed data about individuals' phone calls, the German government is eyeing a possible law that would eliminate using false data to set up e-mail accounts.
"This is an incredibly bad thing in terms of privacy, since people have grown up with the idea that you ought to be able to have an anonymous e-mail account," Google's privacy counsel in Europe, Peter Fleischer, said.
While the debate continued regarding the proposed legislation, security in the European Union was addressed Thursday as Germany's Prum Treaty was made into a law.
The EU Observer said that the pact between the seven nations would allow them to share personal data such as fingerprints and DNA samples in an effort to increase international security.
