Scepticism greets data retention plans

Scaled-down government plans for collecting communications data will not work, industry watchers have warned.

The consultation paper launched last week by the Home Office outlined what information would have to be kept by communication service providers, and for how long.

Under the government proposals, mobile operators and internet service providers (ISPs) would be required to store information about users for up to 12 months.

Details of the senders and receivers of emails would need to be kept for six months, although the content of emails would not be held.

But the proposals are for a voluntary scheme, to which ISPs cannot agree, warns a lawyer.

Data protection laws prohibit communication providers from holding customer information for longer than is necessary for billing purposes, warned Struan Robertson, technology specialist at law firm Masons.

Ian Brown, director of privacy campaign group the Foundation for Information Policy Research, condemned the government plans in a statement as a "sham".

The Home Office is "merely going through the motions so that they can come back with a compulsory scheme," he said.

The imposition of a compulsory scheme, which would allow ISPs to hold data legally, raises a number of fears.

"Once a scheme of data retention is introduced, the length that it is held can be varied," explained Robertson.

"The police want the power to hold on to the data as long as possible."

But communication data is a crucial element in crime fighting, as it could be "the only eyewitness" to a crime, said Home Office minister Bob Ainsworth.

"It is a question of getting the balance right between [police] powers and our cherished privacy," he added.

The issue of costs also remains a concern. The published proposals contain provision for reimbursing ISPs, but the details of how this would work remain sketchy.

Under the proposals, the Home Office would "contribute a reasonable proportion" of the set-up and running costs. So far it has set aside £20m.

But provider AOL has argued that its own data retention scheme would cost $40m (£26m) to set up and a further $14m a year to run.

Without full funding, these costs are likely to be passed on to customers.