Data retention inquiry
Spare a thought for the contributors to the latest inquiry by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security. While most of us were at the beach this summer, lawyers, privacy advocates, the communications industry and individuals were preparing their submissions to the Committee’s inquiry into the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Amendment (Data Retention) Bill 2014.
The Bill will require telecommunications and internet service providers to maintain for two years data about our telephone and internet communications. If these businesses do not keep that sort of data (because, for example, they have no business need for it), they will have to create it.