Group of Internet giants, including search engine Google, the largest social networking site Facebook, and many others on Wednesday announced their intention to file a lawsuit in France’s State Council, the  highest judicial body of country, against the law by local authorities, which obliges the companies to retain internet users’ personal data for a year, reports AFP .

There are more than 20 Internet companies that have joined the initiative, including Dailymotion video service and online auction site eBay, which are part of ‘The French Association of Internet Community Services (ASIC)’. Companies do not agree with the legality of decisions, which were published in early March.

This ruling applies to companies providing e-mail, music and video services, as well as online resources that specialize in e-commerce. According to the ruling, the companies are obliged to store full name, usernames, email addresses, postal addresses, phone numbers and passwords of users, as well as the details must be furnished to law enforcement agencies whenever required.

According to ASIC head Benoit Tabaka, they intend to file a lawsuit. He said “Several elements are problematic….For instance, there was no consultation with the European Commission. Our companies are based in several European countries.

Mr Tabaka added “Our activities target many national markets, so it is clear that we need a common approach”.

ASIC has called the measures as shocking and maintains that retention of passwords can lead to many internet security issues.