It's the EU. When it comes to tech they're either woefully incompetent or malicious (I'm not sure which). They talk the talk about privacy and a free society, but their moves are constantly moving things in the opposite direction.

This was 15 years ago: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_Retention_Directive

Sure, it eventually got struck down by the courts, but EU politicians still thought this was a terrific idea. And it's not like things have changed much since then.