On Monday, in this
diary, nhdapple wrote about a CNET news article about data-retention policy for fighting child explotation (euphemism for porn).
However, here in this updated CNET article by Declan McCullagh we hear the truth: It's about anti-terrorism, of course. I didn't see any diaries about this update yet, but if there is one, let me know and I'll either turf this one or update it to point to the other, older diary.
Flip==
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In a radical departure from earlier statements, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has said that requiring Internet service providers to save records of their customers' online activities is necessary in the fight against terrorism, CNET News.com has learned.
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 perhaps search engines--must retain data for two years to aid in anti-terrorism prosecutions, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussion who spoke on condition of anonymity on Tuesday.
"We want this for terrorism," Gonzales said, according to one person familiar with the discussion.
Gonzales' earlier position had only emphasized how mandatory data retention would help thwart child exploitation.
No matter who speaks, the truth leaks out. AG's words, "We want this for terrorism" are likely the absolute truth of the matter and he just doesn't know he gave it up!
I guess that no one is believing the Child Exploitation angle (i.e. the WMD of electronic privacy) and are now trotting the "Feah and Terruh" on stage to get everyone to toe the line. How utterly predictable!
I do not know the ins and outs of whether this is legal or not. My gut tells me that it smells badly though. I do know that I never take anything this administration wants lightly however, and would seriously question them, even if only ordering a ham sandwich from a deli.
The Comcast representative's comments are worrisome:
Comcast said in a statement that "we fully share the attorney general's concern with the need to combat illegal use of the Internet for child pornography, terrorism and other illegal activities. We applaud the attorney general's initiative in convening an internal task force on this issue and look forward to continuing to cooperate with him and the FBI."
I guess that could just be some more CYA-speak, but I would have thought that all the bad press recently would have moved statements more towards privacy.
Some other unattributed quote is more my style:
"A monumental data trove is a crazy thing from a privacy perspective," said one person familiar with Friday's discussions. "It's crazy that the U.S. government is going to retain more data than the Chinese government does."
My analog outrage meter is damaged beyond repair with a U-shaped bend in the needle from being constantly pegged.
My digital outrage meter has been flashing "out of range" for months.
How much more can it take? How much more can I take? How much more can we take?