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Comment by roel_v | Hacker News Reader

It's way outside the mandate of the EU.

I wouldn't say that it is completely outside what the EU is doing. The data retention directive was partially about this. The later annulment by the Court of Justice of the European Union for violating fundamental rights, to me, shows that some people in the EU actually cares about his.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_Retention_Directive

Yes, exactly. The EU has the power to do something on this. Actually, when US was facing the Net-Neutrality case, most media questioned about what EU was doing about the same topic and they all pointed out that, according to many different lawyers, this is a field where the EU can interfere.

So, I don't have doubts about the fact that EU has the right and the power to do something.

Net neutrality is (with some imagination - even that was already stretching it) about inter-member state commerce, i.e. the common market. For surveillance that point is much harder to make.

"So, I don't have doubts about the fact that EU has the right and the power to do something."

Based on what knowledge or qualifications? Have you studied the structure and history of the EU? For example, can you say (without looking it up) what the difference is between a regulation and a directive, and what the difference is between the European Council and the Council of Europe? Because if not, frankly, you're not qualified to have a valid opinion on this.

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