Beam me up, Data

IssueMarch 2009
News by Cedric Knight

On 18 February, I represented the ethical internet service provider (ISP) GreenNet at an industry meeting on data retention. From 6 April, the government will be able to require ISPs to retain records for 12 months of every email sent and every website visited by their users. (Phone companies have been required to retain data about calls since October 2007.)

Explaining the justification for retaining internet data, a Home Office representative referred to the desecration of a grave connected with Home Farm, where guinea pigs were bred for animal experimentation, and the 7/7 London bombings.

The official was unable to explain how retaining emails or internet connection histories would have prevented either incident.

When pressed on the 7/7 attacks, he whispered that the public would be even more “scared” if they knew that the police were only six hours behind the 7/7 bombers – on the basis of mobile phone records. How this was relevant to emails and internet usage, he did not explain. In fact, he didn’t even explain why the Home Office has failed to define the word “email”.

The data retention obligation arises from an EU directive adopted in 2005, and will cost the government at least £46m in subsidies to ISPs over eight years.

The new regulations replace a voluntary data retention scheme — which was not widely adopted.