AU: Telcos relieved at limited scope and cost of data retention law

Matthew Knott, James Massola, and David Wroe report:

Police will use new laws requiring customers’ phone and internet records to be stored for two years to target terrorists, child abusers and potentially illegal music and movie downloaders.

The Abbott government introduced legislation for a mandatory data retention scheme into Parliament on Thursday following a snap party room meeting in which Coalition MPs had just 30 minutes to discuss the bill.

A leaked copy of a Coalition party room submission, obtained by Fairfax Media, says data retention will be costly and the government is anticipating a campaign against the laws that will describe it as an “internet tax” because of potential increases in internet bills.

Read more on Sydney Morning Herald.

The telcos may be relieved, but consumers should not be:

Companies will be required to store data including names and addresses, the IP address allocated to an internet account, billing information, download and upload volumes, and the duration and locations of phone calls and internet sessions.

The bill does not cover the content of calls or emails, web browsing history or real-time location information – a move likely to dampen fears of mass public surveillance.

Has the Australian public learned nothing about metadata from the U.S. coverage?