US wants access to Irish text messages and email

AMERICAN authorities such as the CIA, FBI and National Security Agency are seeking further access to Irish data — including phone calls, text messages and emails.

Currently, under mutual agreements, assistance is commonplace between Ireland and the US in relation to retained data, such as fingerprints.

But the US agencies want access to Irish and other EU citizens’ data on telecommunications, including electronic mail.

As a result of legislation drawn up in March 2005, Irish telephone and internet service providers have to retain all data for at least three years.

The data is available to gardaí investigating, or hoping to prevent, crime.

The data retention regulations and similar EU laws have been harshly criticised by Europe’s data protection commissioners and described as a threat to human rights. The Irish Council for Civil Liberties is also concerned about its effects and is drawing up a report which should be completed shortly.

The EU data retention law, passed in February allows police to access phone and internet records from all the member states.

But concern is increasing among civil liberty groups over the information being made available to US agencies under existing co-operation agreements.

According to the minutes of a meeting in Vienna last month between EU and US officials, the US indicated it was considering approaching each member state to ensure the data collected on the basis of the data retention directive be accessible to them.

The US delegation was reportedly told by EU officials that the data was “accessible like any other data on the basis of existing agreements”. The minutes of the meeting have been confirmed by the Department of Justice and the European Commission.

A Government spokesman said that under the mutual assistance agreements between Ireland and the US “if they [US] are looking for specific retained data it would be considered in the context of this agreement”.

Assistance was commonplace in relation to retained data, fingerprint and other evidence, said the spokesman, given that the US was a “friendly, democratic country”.

Requests from the US are not a regular occurrence, the spokesman said, but refused to give details of when, and how often, requests have been made and were complied with.

Requests are made to the Department of Justice and are authorised by a district court judge in private.

Citizens are not told that their data has been requested or is being handed over to authorities of another country.

Ireland’s data protection officer, Billy Hawkes, who has warned of the dangers to personal liberties posed by the legislation, said the latest development “reinforces concerns already expressed by European Data Commissioners”.

The EU law allows information to be retained for between six months and two years but Ireland made the decision to hold it for three years.