Government Wants ISPs To Keep Data For Two Years

The Department of Justice is working to require ISPs to keep records on customer activities for two years to help law enforcement officials fight crimes including terrorism and child pornography. Officials from the department met recently with leading Internet companies to discuss details about how such a plan could be put into place. Representatives of those companies said that while they want to aid efforts to stop or prevent crime, they have concerns about exactly what information the Justice Department wants them to keep and how it would be used. A spokesperson from the Justice Department said they want to see records of Web searches and e-mail exchanges but not the content of those actions. He also said access to those records would be restricted and subject to existing protocols covering who is allowed to see it and under what circumstances. Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said the proposal amounts to “a radical departure from current practices” and would pose “an unnecessary risk to privacy and security of Internet users.”

San Jose Mercury News, 2 June 2006