ZDNet Australia is carrying a story today saying that country’s Attorney-General Robert McLelland said he was NOT considering a controversial data retention policy that would require ISPs to track Australians’ web browsing history.
A spokesman for McLelland’s office said, “This is not about web browser history. It’s purely about being able to identify and verify identities online” He said the initiative was intended to give law enforcement authorities the ability to track criminals.
Friday the AG’s Department said it had been examining the European Directive on Data Retention and considering similar regulations for Australia. “The directive requires telcos to record and retain data such as the source, destination and timing of all emails and telephone calls — even including Internet telephony,” ZDNet said.
Story here: “Govt denies it wants web history records”
For earlier story on Sunbelt Blog see: “Oz AG wants ISPs to retain browsing histories”
Tom Kelchner