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Do telecommunications providers have to help prosecutors to locate suspects? After factual suspension of data retention by Federal Network agency, re is a dispute between law enforcement authorities and telecommunications providers on issue of location data. While prosecutors are already threatening with advertisements against responsible managers, Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone are defending ir actions and denote accusations as “strong tobacco”.
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The background: In June 2017 federal Network agency had in fact suspended unconditional storage of location and connection data. Previously, upper administrative Court of North Rhine-Westphalia (OVG NRW), with its registered office in Münster, had decided that German data retention breached European law. After that, Telekom had successfully tried to reach a legally secure status for telecommunications providers by claiming its own data.
Display against responsible person checked
The statements of Detmold prosecutor Christopher Imig show that current legal status is still controversial. Since Telekom and Vodafone refused to issue location data of suspects in two cases, it now threatens those responsible with consequences. “I seriously check ads against those responsible for telecom and Vodafone. If I initiate investigative procedures, y will not be directed against any clerk, but against those who have caused our work to be hindered, “Imig said at end of March 2018 to Westphalia Gazette.
The legal problem: Although providers do not currently have to fulfil ir costly storage obligations according to paragraph 113b of Telecommunications Act (TKG), but also according to paragraph 100g of Code of Criminal Procedure (StPO) traffic data may be collected if this necessary for investigation of offence or whereabouts of suspects. According to paragraph 96 of tkg, providers may also store location data in addition to connection data for ir own purposes, but y do not have to. At request of Golem.de, Telekom confirmed to store location data for its own purposes for a period of seven days.
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A Vodafone spokeswoman confirmed to news agency dpa that y had only transmitted connection data, for example numbers of callers or time and length of a telephone call. “We have acted appropriately and given information we were allowed to give at time of request under applicable law.” However, publication of location data is not permitted.
In cases mentioned by Imig, it was not even a question of obtaining location data retrospectively for past four weeks, as was to be allowed by Data Retention Act. Instead, prosecutor wanted to use data to determine current whereabouts of fugitive suspects. This would not require an unconditional and nationwide storage. But even in se cases, which would correspond to so-called quick-freeze procedure, Vodafone and Telekom did not want to publish any data.
