COPYCENSE

“A prominent Republican on Capitol Hill has prepared legislation that would rewrite Internet privacy rules by requiring that logs of Americans’ online activities be stored. The proposal comes just weeks after Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Internet service providers should retain records of user activities for a ‘reasonable amount of time,’ a move that represented a dramatic shift in the Bush administration’s views on privacy.

“Wisconsin Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, is proposing that ISPs be required to record information about Americans’ online activities so that police can more easily ‘conduct criminal investigations.’ Executives at companies that fail to comply would be fined and imprisoned for up to one year.”

Declan McCullagh. Congress May Make ISPs Snoop On You. News.com. May 16, 2006.

See also:

Declan McCullagh. Congress May Consider Mandatory ISP Snooping. News.com. April 28, 2006.

Anne Broache. U.S. Attorney General Calls for ‘Reasonable’ Data Retention. News.com. April 20, 2006.

Declan McCullagh. ISP Snooping Gaining Support. News.com. April 14, 2006.

Jo Best. EU Data Retention Directive Gets Final Nod. News.com. February 22, 2006.

Declan McCullagh. Your ISP As Net Watchdog. News.com. June 16, 2005.

Update:

Declan McCullagh. ISP Snooping Plans Take Backseat. News.com. May 18, 2006. (“Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has backed away from plans to rewrite Internet privacy rules by requiring that logs of Americans’ online activities be stored. Sensenbrenener said through a representative this week that he will not be introducing that legislation after all.”)

CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the law, business, and technology of digital content. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.