Lobby condemns data storage plans

Plans by the Government and others to store records of all phone and mobile calls, emails and internet usage "will result in massive costs" and should be dropped, according to four of the world's largest business and technology industry groups.

A joint statement issued by the groups condemns mandatory data retention, or the storage of information about the source, destination and duration of all calls and emails, especially for "excessive periods".

Instead, the four advocate "data preservation" - the retention of specific records only when mandated by warrant - the technique currently used in the US.

"Data retention is an intrusive measure that should not be taken until less intrusive alternatives such as data preservation have been tested and proven insufficient to meet government's stated objectives," the statement said.

The industry groups complain that there has been "disappointingly little effort by governments to seek an adequately informed balance between the legitimate interests of government, [the communications] industry, and end-users."

The four groups include the International Chamber of Commerce Commerce (ICC), the Union of Industrial and Employers' Confederations of Europe (UNICE), the European Information, Communications and Consumer Electronics Technology Industry Association (EICTA) and the International Telecommunications Users Group (INTUG).

ICT Ireland, the IBEC industry organisation for the information and communications technology industry, also supports data preservation. Recently, it stated its concerns that mandatory retention would critically damage the State's business environment and significantly increase end-user costs for telecoms services.

The Department of Justice has proposed the longest period for data retention in Europe, at three years. The statement from the industry groups notes "great concern" over "the variance and length of the proposed data retention periods, which range from three months to three years", which would make it virtually impossible for law enforcement agencies and government to co-ordinate retention programs.

"Mandatory retention of traffic data for periods longer than business requires not only magnifies costs, but also poses significant privacy and security risks by creating enormous pools of stored data, increasing the risk of illegal access to and misuse of this data," according to the statement.