While we’ve all been watching the Tea Party squeeze the government by the balls, a measure was passed by the House Judiciary Committee that could have a profound impact on our privacy should it be passed into law. Internet providers would be required to maintain records of customer activity for 12 months in the event it’s needed for legal investigations.
Data retention has been high on the Republican wish-list for a decade. It’s ostensibly intended to help law enforcement build cases against child pornography and internet predators. If that’s the case, they are throwing an awfully wide net:
A last-minute rewrite of the bill expands the information that commercial Internet providers are required to store to include customers’ names, addresses, phone numbers, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, and temporarily-assigned IP addresses, some committee members suggested. By a 7-16 vote, the panel rejected an amendment that would have clarified that only IP addresses must be stored.
Yes. You read that right. Every single piece of data you enter, every bit and byte of your personal finances, your porn, your music, your shoe shopping addiction; all of it nicely tucked away into a repository, just in case.
Of course, this has a very long way to go before it becomes a law, but that such a sweeping invasion of personal privacy is even being seriously considered by lawmakers is frightening, if unsurprising.
(via)
