Feds Want to Keep Tabs of Our On-Line Activities

A Bush administration plan to keep tabs on Web users' surfing habits took a radical turn, worrying tech companies and Web surfers alike. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales says he wants to require that Internet service providers to save records of their customers' online activities because it is necessary in the fight against terrorism. Gonzales and FBI Director Robert Mueller privately met with representatives of AOL, Comcast, Google, Microsoft and Verizon last week and said that Internet providers (and possibly even search engines) must retain data for two years to aid in antiterrorism prosecutions.

If the feds adopt the approach used by the European Union, Internet companies would be required to save logs showing the identities of e-mail and, perhaps, instant messaging correspondents in addition to data about which customer was assigned which Internet address.

If data retention becomes viewed primarily as an antiterrorism measure, recent legal and political spats could complicate the Justice Department's efforts to make it standard practice. Previously, Gonzales' had emphasized only how mandatory data retention would help thwart child exploitation. This expansion of the role of data retention has many companies and individuals expressing deep concern over legal issues and the right to privacy.

ISPs and telecommunications companies expressed concern about the feasibility of recording Americans' online activities.

"We have real reservations about data retention requirements because of the security and privacy risks attached to it," said Mark Uncapher, senior vice president of the Information Technology Association of America.

After recent reports that AT&T has opened its databases to the National Security Agency, Internet and telecommunications executives have become skittish about appearing to be cooperating too closely with the federal government's surveillance efforts.

The details of the Justice Department's proposal remain unclear at the present time. One possibility is requiring Internet providers to record the Internet addresses that their customers are temporarily assigned. A more extensive mandate would require them to keep track of the identities of Americans' e-mail and instant messaging correspondents and save the logs of Internet phone calls.

Expect to hear much more about this story in the very near future. Privacy and civil rights groups will be weighing in heavily on this issue, you can be sure. History is replete with examples of civil rights being reduced in the name of national security. But, at the same time, terrorism is a major threat to our country and our way of life and we do need the tools to not only go after terrorists after an act of terrorism, but to prevent possible future attacks before they happen. It is a difficult balancing act.

But, quite frankly, most proposals by the Bush Administration these days seem to set off my warning bells.