Court restricts German data gathering law

From Deutsche Welle :

Germany's highest court has ruled to restrict the scope of a law on the use of telephone and internet data. The decision, handed down by the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe says that such data may be saved for up to six months, but that it may only be passed on to the authorities to help in investigations involving major crimes. Under a law that came into effect at the start of this year, telecommunications companies were also required to pass on information relating to minor crimes. The decision comes after the law was challenged by a member of parliament from the opposition liberal Free Democrats and a number of private citizens. They argued that the law restricted their right to privacy.