Congress May Consider Mandatory ISP Snooping

The idea of Internet service providers (ISPs) retaining data is gaining traction in Congress, as more and more lawmakers are pushing to legislate ISPs to keep data for a minimum of one year.

CNET News.com’s Declan McCullagh is reporting Congress is moving to address the issue of data retention by ISPs. Last week, he says, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, a Republican, gave a speech saying data retention by Internet service providers is an “issue that must be addressed.” Gonzales says child pornography investigations have been hampered because ISPs routinely delete data.

“Now, in a demonstration of bipartisan unity, a Democratic member of the Congressional Internet Caucus is preparing to introduce an amendment – perhaps during a U.S. House of Representatives floor vote next week – that would make such data deletion illegal,” McCullagh says.

The proposal from Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette says any Internet service that “enables users to access content” must permanently retain records that would permit police to identify each user. The records could not be discarded until at least one year after the user’s account was closed.

However, McCullagh says it’s not clear whether that requirement would be limited only to e-mail providers and Internet providers such as DSL (digital subscriber line) or cable modem services. “An expansive reading of DeGette's measure would require every Web site to retain those records,” he says.

To read the full article, click here: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6066608.html