Feds Want ISPs To Keep Your Data

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told Congress Tuesday that it should require ISPs to keep data on its customers for years, ostensibly to clamp down on child pornography and terrorism.

If kept those records could be acquired through subpoena, self-issued National Security Letters, or by simple request from law enforcement. They might also increasingly be used in civil disputes, divorces and custody cases.

At Tuesday's hearing, Gonzales said he agreed with the sentiment of 49 state attorneys general who in a June letter to Congress expressed support for a federal law that would require longer retention of customer records.

"We respect civil liberties, but we have to harmonize this so we can get more information," he said.

The subject has prompted some alarm among Internet service provider executives and civil liberties groups after the Justice Department took Google to court earlier this year to force it to turn over information on customer searches. Civil liberties groups also have sued Verizon and other telephone companies, alleging that they are working with the government to provide information without search warrants on subscriber calling records.

Link.

The Bush Administration used to be formally against mandatory data retention policies before the Senate, but the document (.pdf) showing its old position is now damaged and unopenable. The broken link is accompanied by a statementthat says: "Note: This document reflects the position of the United States at the time of its drafting in 2001. In light of ongoing discussions and evolving policy positions on issues relating to some substantive and procedural issues, it may no longer reflect the official position of the Department or the United States."

Photo: Skippy13