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Originally Posted by Paul Delaney
I don't think the ISP's are required to retain any other data other than the IP that was allocated to a customer at any given time or date and the duration of the allocation
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ISP's already do this, they keep IP allocation records so that under RIPA the police can request the account details of who owned what IP address on a given date/time.
This act goes one better, the police can now also ask what sites were visited based on an IP address, or possibly based on known account information. ISP's will be required to "keep logs of internet usage" for a period of 12 months.
What is of concern is this quote in The Register article.
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“The aim of the [Directive] is to ensure that certain data is retained to enable public authorities to undertake their lawful activities to investigate, detect and prosecute crime and to protect the public," said a Home Office spokeswoman.
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Now, call me paranoid, but education councils have already "exploited" RIPA to spy on parents who wanted their child to attend a certain school.
The article says
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Law enforcement agencies can gain access to such data with a court-ordered warrant. Though providers almost uniformly keep the information for such periods to resolve any future billing disputes, the laws will ensure that they do so.
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I know for fact that police do not need a court ordered warrant to access IP data history, there is provision within RIPA to allow such requests to be passed through central controlled divisions within the police ranks. What's to say this will not be accessed in the same way, or in fact that the article has got this bit wrong?
But lets cut to the chase, this act, proposed by the government as part of an EU directive that they now need to ratify means this.
Our Internet usage from a certain date on will be recorded and retained for a period of 12 months by our ISP. What isn't clear is which public authorities will be able to access such data.
As Alexander has said, this is nothing new, however, this is the first time to my knowledge that this requirement will be enshrined in Law, and the first time for sure our browsing data will be recorded, and can be used as part of a criminal or national security investigation.
Obviously my point is off-topic as it doesn't directly relate to Phorm, but this is about privacy.