US data retention task force
p2p news / p2pnet: America is considering following Europe’s example with a data retention scheme under which companies would be required to hold information on customers for up to two years.
Data retention, "is a complicated issue with implications not only for efforts to combat child pornography but also for security, privacy, safety and availability of low-cost or free Internet services," says Microsoft, one of, if not the, biggest potential data retainers of them all, according to CNET News.
"We are reviewing our retention policies in light of European Union data retention regulations and look forward to working with the U.S. Justice Department to discuss the best methods for balancing law enforcement requirements, legitimate business needs (such as fraud detection and prevention), and privacy and security concerns for our customers."
And, "The subject has prompted alarm from some executives and privacy advocates, especially after Gonzales’ Justice Department took Google to court earlier this year to force it to turn over information on customer searches," says the Houston Chronicle.
"Civil liberties groups also have sued Verizon and other telephone companies, alleging they are working with the government to provide information without search warrants on subscriber calling records."
While initial proposals, "were vague," some of the company executives who were at the meeting, "said they gathered the department was interested in records that would allow them to identify which individuals visited certain Web sites and possibly conducted searches using certain terms," says the New York Times News Service.
US federal attorney general Alberto Gonzales has appointed a task force to explore the issue, and that group is to meet today, "with a broader group of Internet executives," the story spokesman Brian Roehrkasse saying.
Stay tuned.
Also See:
hold information – US data retention plans?, May 30, 2006
CNET News – Microsoft comments on data retention, May 31, 2006
Houston Chronicle – Firms Wary About Holding Customer Records, June 2, 2006
New York Times News Service – U.S. wants firms to save Web use data, June 2, 2006
