The Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA) says it will be working closely with the Government to develop a voluntary Code of Practice to accompany the new law.
Home Secretary David Blunkett said that the Bill would “enable law enforcement agencies to access the information needed to effectively tackle terrorism.” In pursuance of this aim, communication service providers will be allowed under the Bill to retain data, though not content, for reasons of national security or where it may be vital for criminal investigation.” The Bill does not make retention compulsory.
This provision of the Bill is to be clarified by a voluntary code of practice. The ISPA has been involved in this project and, said Nicholas Lansman, the ISPA’s secretary-general, it “welcomes the opportunity to work in co-operation with the Government, law enforcement agencies and the Information Commissioner to develop a Code of Practice that is reasonable and practical in its requirements and effective in its objective.”
The ISPA hopes that its involvement would mean data retention measures that are effective yet workable and highlighted several practical concerns, including:
- how to develop a code of practice that will relate to the diversity of communications service providers (CSPs)
- identification of the types of data law enforcement agencies find useful
- the practical aspects of data handover and compliance with data protection law
- how CSPs' costs will be recovered
- how the code of practice will affect CSPs whose servers are located abroad.
The Government confirmed that data retention will not be mandatory under the Bill but hopes that the voluntary code will provide greater clarity for service providers and law enforcement agencies regarding the types of data currently held for legitimate business purposes and the length of time such data may be retained.
As well as the ISPA, the consultation process is to involve representatives from the Home Office, the DTI, the London Internet Exchange (LINX), the CBI and telcos.
