Benn Grubb provides more on the controversial proposal:
The information that the Australian system, if implemented, would get ISPs to log and retain is yet to be set in stone by the Attorney-General’s Department. ZDNet Australia reported various ISP sources’ claims that it could extend as far as each individual web page an internet user had visited. This was echoed by an industry source that was quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper on Saturday.
Attorney-General Robert McClelland’s media advisor on Monday denied “web browser history” would be logged. “This is not about web browser history,” said McClelland’s media liaison Adam Siddique. “It’s purely about being able to identify and verify identities online,” he added, linking the initiative to the ability for law enforcement to track criminals online.
Yesterday, the Attorney-General’s Department said that the Australian Government was “still considering and consulting on this subject and as such it would be inappropriate to comment at this stage”, and did not rule out logs of URLs being retained.
Industry sources remain adamant that draft documents they have been given show the proposal could stretch as far as web browsing history, and argue the government was denying it would require ISPs to log “web browsing history” in the media as a way of quashing privacy fears.
Read more on ZDnet (AU).