Friday, May 05, 2006

Republican Politico Endorses Data Retention

Declan McCullagh writes on C|Net News:

A key Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives plans to find some way to force Internet providers to keep records of their customers' activities, an aide said Friday.

An aide said Rep. Joe Barton of Texas, who chairs the House committee responsible for writing Internet and telecommunications law, has pledged to work on legislation related to mandatory data retention--a concept recently endorsed by the Bush administration as a way to crack down on child pornographers.

"We have made a commitment with the congresswoman to address that issue," David Cavicke, general counsel to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said at the Computers, Freedom and Privacy conference here. Cavicke was referring to Rep. Diana DeGette, a Colorado Democrat, who has drafted legislation making it unlawful for an Internet provider to delete certain types of customer information.

In response to a question from CNET News.com, Cavicke said he didn't know what form the legislation will take--whether, that is, it'll be a standalone bill or an amendment to a much broader proposal to rewrite telecommunications laws.

More here.

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