Gonzales And Mueller Urge ISP's To Record Information

In another closed door meeting, A.G. Alberto Gonzales and FBI Director Robert Mueller urged ISP's to record their customers internet records.

(Cnet)In a private meeting with officials, Gonzales, Mueller and other senior members of the Justice Department said Internet service providers should retain subscriber information and network data for two years, according to two sources familiar with the discussion who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The closed-door meeting at the Justice Department, which Gonzales had requested, according to the sources, comes as the idea of legally mandated data retention has become popular on Capitol Hill and inside the Bush administration.

While they will use the blanket of child porn, how will anyone know for sure what they are really doing with these records?

Privacy advocates have been alarmed by the idea of legally mandated data retention, saying that while child exploitation may be the justification today, those records would be available in all kinds of criminal and civil suits--including terrorism, tax evasion, drug, and even divorce cases.

It was not immediately clear what Gonzales and Mueller meant by suggesting that network data be retained. One possibility is requiring Internet providers to record the Internet addresses their customers are temporarily assigned. A more extensive mandate would require companies to keep track of e-mail messages sent, Web pages visited and perhaps even instant-messaging correspondents.

Of course they are trying to bend the rules of certain laws. As I read these laws, and let me say I'm not a lawyer but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night, it requires a more narrow focus than just anyone on the internet.

A 1996 federal law called the Electronic Communication Transactional Records Act regulates data preservation. It requires Internet providers to retain any "record" in their possession for 90 days "upon the request of a governmental entity."
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In addition, Internet providers are required by another federal law to report child pornography sightings to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which is in turn charged with forwarding that report to the appropriate police agency.

And while it might make you feel safe to encrypt your emails and get anonymous surfing software, if they want your info, they will get it. Not to mention that encryption and special software will only raise more flags and bring more attention.