Data insecurity

The inherent contraction of European data-security laws has been highlighted by recent events in Germany and the CR. In Germany, hundreds of prominent people risk being prosecuted for tax evasion on the basis of a CD stolen from a Liechtenstein bank and bought for E5m by the German secret police. In the CR, the secret police played a key role in publicizing an illegally taped meeting of two prominent political figures at the Savoy Hotel. In both cases, the secret police apparently gained possession of illegal material and took action on the basis of it. Under normal circumstances, such police behavior would be deemed unacceptable, but this time it's the police who are protected, because release or use of the material is considered to be in the "public good." These cases are clear warnings to anyone who thought "data-protection" laws meant that he or she was the one being protected. [Czech Republic EUR bank secrecy Jiří Weigl Miroslav Šlouf]