(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — In an effort to help law enforcement officials investigate child pornography and other serious crimes, FBI Director Robert Mueller is calling on Internet service providers to keep records of customer browsing history and retain those logs for two years.
A bureau attorney said Mueller reaffirmed his support of the recording of Internet users’ “origin and destination information,” at a federal task force meeting on Thursday, according to a report from CNET news. As far back as a 2006, Mueller called for ISP data retention in a speech addressing the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and he presented his case before Congress two years later, calling for a law to make it mandatory.
The US Patriot Act of 2001 and the previously enacted Electronic Communications Privacy Act had held ISPs and other telecom providers in a unique position between their customers and the government as holders of records, and obliging them to assist the government in gathering information about serious crimes, from terrorism to child abuse. With this new regulation, Mueller hopes that some of the restrictions of the Patriot Act, which loosened at the close of 2005, will be re-tightened and that ISPs will be held to even higher standards.
In 2006, the government persuaded Comcast to retain user records for six months, and other ISPs have made similar commitments, however, most (if not all) fall short of the two year mark.
Critics have noted that the recording of user data poses many challenges both legal and technical. IT blog The Register (register.co.uk) notes that it is unclear if Mueller wants ISPs to record what websites are visited, or the specific URLs that would require deep packet inspection techniques and probably break US wiretap laws. It would also place a heavy burden on ISPs to manage such records.
The US Internet Service Provider Association, which represents a long list of ISPs including AT&T, AOL, Comcast, and Verizon, has said that, while it is always willing to cooperate with law enforcement, it would also appreciate more specific information from the FBI.
ISPA director Kate Dean said in an e-mail message regarding the issue, “Without specifics, it’s hard to know what Director Mueller is looking for from industry. The idea of data retention is complex, and Congress will need to examine many issues including which providers would be covered by a retention regime, for what period of time would those organizations be required to keep the data, does the policy idea fit with the today’s and tomorrow’s technologies, and what are the effects on the consumer–what are the potential risks to subscriber privacy and security?”
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