Quote:
Originally Posted by declanh
Can someone clarify something for me -
in the BBC interview with Alexander and Kent the interviewer (and Kent) states that everything you do when online is stored against your IP address (already - pre Phorm)
Can someone elaborate a little more on this - does he mean proxies or what ?
Does he mean search engines ? If its search engines that not everything ?
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I think he may have been referring to one or all of:
Search engines, who store all SEARCHES
ISPs and the data retention obligations. Logs, especially call records, must be kept for a year, and this is often taken to include DNS lookups (where available), as well as email sender, recipient etc. So your ISP may well have a copy of your entire clickstream of sorts.
What it shouldn't have however is a copy of the actual PAGES visited on any website, because this wouldn't be included in the DNS lookup. However I don't know how e.g. Hitwise works to get traffic stats.
Basically, the debate is a complex legal one between what constitutes "traffic data" and what constitutes content.
Any attempt to reconstitute the HTTP request to read the content of the GET request should in my opinion be covered by RIPA, however some people wrongly believe because this is in a HTTP
header that this is header information and therefore traffic information and therefore up for grabs.
Strictly speaking under RIPA, traffic information is the information necessary in routing the data communication, so IP address, DNS lookup, email recipient etc.
PECR (Privacy in Electronic Communications Regulations, EC Directive, 2003) regulates how ISPs can process traffic information, including consent issues. RIPA deals with disclosure.
You may be surprised to hear that any one of hundreds of government bodies, including local councils, can request under RIPA without order from a Judge your traffic information!