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Telecommunication companies are struggling to understand vague data retention proposals outlined on Tuesday by the Abbott government and believe different companies may be subject to varying requirements. Telecommunication companies will be required to store a “uniform or standard” amount of their customers’ metadata for two years, government officials have clarified.
Tony Abbott insists the government is “not asking for anything that isn’t already being done. This idea that we are asking the telecommunications providers to store material that isn’t already kept and stored is just wrong. The telecommunications industry is struggling to understand the new data retention plan announced Tuesday because different companies store different quantities of information, but Tony Abbott is assuring the industry the government is “not asking for anything that isn’t already being done”.
“We are not asking for new information, we are simply asking telecommunications providers to continue to keep what they currently keep.” “This idea that we are asking the telecommunications providers to store material that isn’t already kept and stored is just wrong. We are not asking for new information, we are simply asking telecommunications providers to continue to keep what they currently keep,” the prime minister said on Wednesday as he explained the plan.
Similar assurances were given on Tuesday night as officials from the Attorney General’s Department briefed some telcos on the plans, which the companies – and the cabinet – learned had been approved by the national security committee from that morning’s newspapers. Since telcos do not all store the same type or amount of information a requirement for them to keep what they now store for a longer period would mean they would still be storing widely varying amounts of data.
But telcos do not all store the same type or amount of information – so a requirement for them to keep what they now store for a longer, legislated period, will mean they store widely varying amounts of data. At a briefing government officials said in most cases the required information would not change, but the government would be setting a “uniform standard” – suggesting the imposition on some companies will be increased.
John Stanton, chief executive of the communications industry peak body, the Communications Alliance, said: “Internet service providers and telecommunications companies all retain different things for different periods of time.” They said metadata to be retained would include the name, address, mobile number and billing address of a person making a call and of those who they were calling, general location information about where the phone was used, the internet identifier of a computer user, the IP address of sites accessed and the time, dates and duration of communications.
Stanton has been briefed from the government but says it is not yet clear how long companies will be required to keep information, nor whether those retaining the least information would have to increase what they keep or would only be required to keep what the same information they now hold. They said this meant that if authorisation for metadata access was obtained by law enforcers, they would be able to determine what sites a target was looking at, but not what they were doing within that site.
“The differences between companies makes it pretty complex and we have to figure those things out,” he said. To get more information, or to do real time tracking of a target’s communications use, law enforcers need to obtain a warrant, but the officials argued metadata had been crucial in tracking suspected terrorists and solving crimes including murders and abductions.
John Stanton, chief executive of the communications industry peak body the Communications Alliance, said: “Internet service providers and telecommunications companies all retain different things for different periods of time.
“The differences between companies makes it pretty complex.”
Asked about privacy concerns, Abbott told ABC radio he had “no doubt that the civil libertarian brigade will do their best to stop this, but my responsibility as prime minister is to keep our country safe. That’s my responsibility and all of the expert advice from every single counter-terrorist agency is that this information is absolutely essential if we are to maintain our vigilance against terrorist activity.”Asked about privacy concerns, Abbott told ABC radio he had “no doubt that the civil libertarian brigade will do their best to stop this, but my responsibility as prime minister is to keep our country safe. That’s my responsibility and all of the expert advice from every single counter-terrorist agency is that this information is absolutely essential if we are to maintain our vigilance against terrorist activity.”
He also dismissed predictions by the internet provider iinet that the provisions could cost consumers $100 a year when the cost of accessible storage was passed through.He also dismissed predictions by the internet provider iinet that the provisions could cost consumers $100 a year when the cost of accessible storage was passed through.
“Well, I don’t know why they would be saying that because this is information which is already kept,” he said. “It’s information which is currently kept, it’s information which is currently done, it’s embedded in the current price – it’s already factored into current pricing structures.”“Well, I don’t know why they would be saying that because this is information which is already kept,” he said. “It’s information which is currently kept, it’s information which is currently done, it’s embedded in the current price – it’s already factored into current pricing structures.”
The company’s chief regulatory officer, Steve Dalby told Guardian Australia the $100 figure had been based on an earlier briefing paper provided by the Attorney General’s Department which suggested companies would be required to cover “all originating and destination data for all internet access, email and phone calls”.The company’s chief regulatory officer, Steve Dalby told Guardian Australia the $100 figure had been based on an earlier briefing paper provided by the Attorney General’s Department which suggested companies would be required to cover “all originating and destination data for all internet access, email and phone calls”.
“That would have covered Facebook, Twitter, Skype, what you buy, what you do, your entire browsing history,” he said. “No internet company needs to keep that and if [the government] is now backing down and saying we don’t need to, that we don’t need to keep anything in addition to what we currently keep, then that’s great, but our only information is a briefing paper that says exactly the opposite.“That would have covered Facebook, Twitter, Skype, what you buy, what you do, your entire browsing history,” he said. “No internet company needs to keep that and if [the government] is now backing down and saying we don’t need to, that we don’t need to keep anything in addition to what we currently keep, then that’s great, but our only information is a briefing paper that says exactly the opposite.
“I am confused. We would love some clarity about what will be expected of us.”“I am confused. We would love some clarity about what will be expected of us.”
In one interview Abbott appeared to suggest that any data generated by telcos about their customers would be kept – which would amount to a substantial increase in data retention. The acting Greens leader, Adam Bandt, said Abbott was “wrong to claim that ISPs already store metadata. The ISPs have consistently said that they only collect a limited amount of data, usually only for billing purposes and there is a big difference between what they store and providing this information to the government and its agencies.
“My understanding is that if it is generated by you, it is content, and that won’t be kept,” he said. “If it is generated by the service providers, that’s metadata, and it will be kept.” “If the government suspects people are engaging in illegal activities online, it should have to seek a warrant, as is the case with other kinds of communication,” Bandt said.
But Brandis told 2GB radio that only the call records and email records would be retained and this aligns with briefings to the industry. “It’s not everything recorded … metadata is the identity of numbers or email addresses.”
Abbott said “an interesting, and I think instructive, metaphor” for the government’s plan was that of an old-fashioned letter.Abbott said “an interesting, and I think instructive, metaphor” for the government’s plan was that of an old-fashioned letter.
“The contents of the letter will remain private. All we want is for the telecommunications companies to continue to keep the person sending the information, the person to whom the information is being sent, the time it was sent and the place it was sent from. It’s, as it were, it’s the information on the front of the envelope which is currently kept, has been kept, we want it to continue to be kept; that’s what we’re proposing.” “The contents of the letter will remain private. All we want is for the telecommunications companies to continue to keep the person sending the information, the person to whom the information is being sent, the time it was sent and the place it was sent from. It’s, as it were, the information on the front of the envelope which is currently kept, has been kept, we want it to continue to be kept; that’s what we’re proposing.”
Tuesday’s Daily Telegraph report said it was expected that Brandis and Turnbull would work up an urgent interim measure by as early as September, with legislation to be introduced later, after the government has considered a report from a Senate inquiry. On Tuesday the Daily Telegraph said it was expected that George Brandis and Malcom Turnbull would work up an urgent interim measure by as early as September, with legislation to be introduced later – after the government has considered a report from a Senate inquiry.
The government is now saying data retention laws will form a “third tranche” of anti-terrorism laws to be finalised by the end of the year. It is unclear whether the urgent interim laws are still part of the plan.The government is now saying data retention laws will form a “third tranche” of anti-terrorism laws to be finalised by the end of the year. It is unclear whether the urgent interim laws are still part of the plan.