A law introduced into the House of Representatives by Lamar Smith (R-TX) is whipping up a fight in the blogosphere. Aimed at combating online child pornography, the bill calls for Internet service providers to retain records on their subscribers.
A bill introduced to the US House of Representatives would require ISPs to record all users' surfing activity, IM conversations and email traffic indefinitely.
However, that language isn't specifically in the bill. That sentence has fueled cross-publication of a SAFETY Act:
…the Attorney General shall issue regulations governing the retention of records by Internet Service Providers. Such regulations shall, at a minimum, require retention of records, such as the name and address of the subscriber or registered user to whom an Internet Protocol address, user identification or telephone number was assigned, in order to permit compliance with court orders that may require production of such information.
The larger concern here is not so much what the bill requires, but that it doesn't give explicit parameters on what type of information is to be preserved. That leaves the Attorney General with a lot of power to include surfing habits, instant messaging, and email.
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