When the news broke a few days ago that the U.S. Senate had finally approved the USA Freedom Act, German commenters received it with satisfaction. However, there are various differences between the USA Freedom Act and data retention laws in Europe, in particular the recent German bill on bulk traffic (i.e., metadata) data collection (Vorratsdatenspeicherung). In many respects, the mandatory storage requirements in Germany will go beyond what the USA Freedom Act demands from the industry in the United States.
Of Counsel Axel Spies authored this commentary for the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AICGS).