Congressional bill HR 1981 requires paid Internet Service Providers (ISPs such as AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, AOL) to retain every IP address used by every customer for the past year, for the sole purpose of government investigations.
Every time a user accesses the Internet, whether at home, in a hotel, in a coffee shop, or anywhere they use their smartphone, a unique IP address is assigned in order to connect that user to the web. HR 1981 requires companies providing paid Internet access to retain a record of each IP address linked to the identity of that customer for the past 18 months.
This bill would allow the government to find out where you were every time you checked your email, went online with your smartphone, or payed to access the Internet in a hotel room or airport. It would enable the government to find out what sites you visited online and precisely where and when you’ve traveled for the past year. Forcing companies to store this data and associate it to individual users will create a wealth of personal information, information that may be subpoenaed in divorce and child custody proceeding or exposed through a data breach.
HR 1981 is so awful that Rep. Zoe Lofgren attempted to give the bill a truer title: “The Keep Every American’s Digital Data for Submission to the Federal Government Without a Warrant Act of 2011.” She, and many other members, recognize that HR 1981 would greatly jeopardize privacy without serving as an effective deterrent to those intent on doing illegal activities online.
Perhaps HR 1981 should be re-numbered as HR 1984.
HR 1981 leaves open a loophole for criminals by not mandating IP address retention for free Internet access available at coffee shops, hotels, and municipal WiFi networks. So if a criminal wants to skirt HR 1981, they need only go grab a cup of coffee.
Lastly, existing data preservation laws already require ISPs to save all data pertaining to a customer when approached by law enforcement. And ISPs voluntarily preserve online evidence for law enforcement when the ISP receives a tip of malfeasance. This process more accurately represents our justice system where data is only collected on a potential criminal when they are suspected of a crime, rather than, under HB 1981, where data is gathered on all Americans in case they become a suspect in a crime.
HR 1981 lets bad actors preserve their anonymity while endangering the privacy of honest Americans; perhaps HR 1981 should be re-numbered as HR 1984.
Status: This bill passed the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on 27-July-2011, by a vote of 19-10.
NetChoice Comments on Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule Review
