#StopDataRetention

WHAT DOES DATA RETENTION MEAN?

By Scott Ludlam: Data retention is likely to require all Internet Service Providers telcos and social media sites operating in Australia keep the following types of data for all Australians for a period of two years:

• Telephone records detailing who called who, at what time, for how long and from what location, including mobile phone records detailing precise geographical location
• Email records detailing who emailed who, at what time and from what device
• Internet access records which would allow law enforcement agencies to determine who visited a certain website at what time
• Records which would allow law enforcement agencies to determine what telecommunications equipment (for example, mobile phones or laptops) users are using
• IP address, date of birth, financial and subscription information from social media sites

Law enforcement authorities in Australia already have access to certain categories of metadata from certain ISPs and telcos, but in fact a laundry list of other organisations have gained access to metadata for undisclosed purposes, including Centrelink, the Western Australian Department of Fisheries, Racing Queensland, the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission, the Victorian Taxi Directorate, and the Office of Environment and Heritage. It is open season on your metadata already: 340,000 warrantless accesses took place in the 2012/13 financial year, and that's before a mandatory data retention regime.

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