Justice Dept. Wants to Keep Surfer Records for Years to "Fight Child Porn/Terrorism"

[minusonebit]

LP Blog
The official blog of the Libertarian Party

June 02, 2006
Justice Depart. Wants Internet Companies to Keep Web-Surfing Records Longer

The Justice Department is looking to further encroach on our online privacy, all in the name of fighting terrorism and child pornography.

On May 26th, top federal law enforcement officials, including FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III and Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, met with Internet company executives to ask them to retain the Web-surfing records of its customers for up to two years, the New York Times reported. Usually Internet companies keep customer web-surfing histories for no more than a few weeks.

The Justice Department tried to frame its proposal as benign (via LA Times):

"The Justice Department said Thursday that it was not seeking to have e-mail content archived, just information about the websites people visit and those with whom they correspond."

According to privacy experts, the proposal is a major break from established policy and could extend far beyond just being used in terrorism and child pornography cases.

Here's what one privacy expert had to say (via LA Times):

"This is not simply limited to kiddie porn or terrorism. It's a real break with precedent," said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the nonprofit Electronic Privacy Information Center. "Data retention is open-ended. The government is saying, 'Keep everything about everyone and we'll sort it out later.' "

The Justice Department is asking Internet companies to retain customers' web-surfing histories voluntarily first. If there is resistance from Internet companies, the Justice Department will push for legislation forcing them to comply.

Posted by Matthew Dailey at June 2, 2006 03:22 PM

> http://www.lp.org/yourturn/archives/000321.shtml

[hezochiah]

So, since LC was on this board I take it we're all fucked...