Warnings Australian spy agency won’t delete retained data

Josh Taylor reports:

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) is not required to delete data that it has obtained from telcos under the mandatory data-retention legislation, the inspector-general of Intelligence and Security has warned.

Under the legislation, telecommunications companies will be required to retain a set of so-called metadata, not limited to but including call records, location information, and IP addresses for at least two years. This data can then be accessed by law-enforcement agencies including ASIO without a warrant.