Australia mulls data retention law.

• Position: PRIVACY - European Union

Australia is considering implementing a data retention law much like the European Union's (EU) Data Retention Directive--and many Australians are not happy about it.

According to media reports, Australia's attorney general (AG) has been holding confidential meetings with Internet service providers (ISPs) to discuss a proposal that would require them to collect and retain the calling records and search engine results of Australians for at least three months.

While law enforcement and government officials say the framework will help them track criminals and protect citizens, others fear it may usher in a "Big Brother" state. Some worry the AG department plans to tie captured website data to individuals.

One ISP director who attended an AG meeting told Computerworld Australia that the AG department's proposal resembles the European Commission's Directive on Data Retention. That law has divided EU member states in their support -only 17 of the 31 countries that should have implemented the directive have done so, mainly because of privacy concerns. The German Constitutional Court asked telecommunications providers to delete collected data after it declared the...