The UK ISP industry has turned down a Home Office request to
voluntarily retain customer data over extended periods and give
police and intelligence agencies access to records of users' e-mail
and web site logs, according to The Guardian. The data retention
scheme is a product of the UK's Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security
Act, which was rushed through Parliament last year in the wake of
September 11th.
According to the Guardian, which cites a letter sent by the
Internet Service Providers Association's (ISPA) Secretary General
Nicholas Lansman to Home Office officials, the industry "has not
been convinced" that the data retention scheme is necessary for the
fight against terrorism and serious crime.
The Guardian reports that Lansman argued that ISPs are concerned
about the cost and privacy implications of retaining their
customers' data, and that the Government has failed to address
their concerns.
He also claimed that the Government has failed to provide
details of investigations that are "currently compromised" through
lack of available data.
The Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act led to the voluntary
scheme for ISPs to retain subscribers' names, addresses, source and
destination of e-mails and records of the web sites they visited,
for up to two years. The data would be available to the authorities
without the need for a court order.
The Act gives the Home Office the authority to make data
retention compulsory, if the voluntary scheme fails – which must
now seem more likely.
