Hotmail, Gmail and Yahoo Mail users will be exempt from the (Irish) government’s new telecoms surveillance bill, according to industry experts.
The Retention of Data Bill, published by the Minister for Justice to combat serious criminal offences, compels internet and telephone operators to retain customer data on calls, texts and e-mails for up to two years.
But a loophole will result in the majority of Irish email accounts falling outside its provisions – including the users of popular web-based services such as Hotmail, Gmail and Yahoo Mail. The bill’s provisions will also not affect communications on social networking sites such as Facebook, Bebo and Twitter.
Read more in ThePost.ie.