UK industry body the Internet Service Providers' Association has condemned the UK presidency of the EU as 'Villain of the Year', the BBC reports.
During its presidential tenure, the UK government pressed for pan-European data retention laws, under the aegis of "protection against terrorism and organised crime".
New laws that demand operators store phone and internet data for two years received the green light this week.
Leaving aside the civil liberties arguments, which were largely ignored by UK EU officials, ISPs are furious that no provision has been made for the cost of retaining such data.
ISPs already face stiffening competition, which has led to a gradual price war.
It's not all bad news for UK.gov, however. APIG, the All Party Parliamentary Internet Group, was named as 'Internet Hero of the Year' for its work in updating the Computer Misuse Act to include new crimes, such as denial-of-service attacks.
This story first appeared on Macworld.co.uk.
Comments