More monkeys jump on the data retention bandwagon

Lazy law enforcement is at it again:

"Terrorists coordinate their plans cloaked in the anonymity of the Internet, as do violent sexual predators prowling chat rooms," Mueller said in a speech at the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference in Boston.

"All too often, we find that before we can catch these offenders, Internet service providers have unwittingly deleted the very records that would help us identify these offenders and protect future victims," Mueller said. "We must find a balance between the legitimate need for privacy and law enforcement's clear need for access."

It really comes down to this:

Law enforcement groups claim that by the time they contact Internet service providers, customers' records may have been deleted in the routine course of business. Industry representatives, however, say that if police respond to tips promptly instead of dawdling, it would be difficult to imagine any investigation that would be imperiled.

I have said it once, I'll say it again, this is just bad policy that dooms the online communications of millions. Anyone who even thinks "I have nothing to hide, so I'm fine" proves that they know nothing about the technology in question. Do you send emails that you wouldn't want others to see? Do you like the idea of every username and password you log into a website with being held in a log somewhere for up to two years? If so, this law is for you! See, anything you send over the net without encryption will be fair game for these laws. That means that anyone gets the logs, criminal, employee or law enforcement, can look at everything from your emails to your unprotected web accounts' (which are the norm) information.

So take one for the children because they are the future of America! Surely you have no problem with having your every username and password, every webmail message, every blog post, every instant message and every phone call recorded just in case law enforcement suspects you of something. Oh, but don't worry, they don't suspect you right now, they just want options for later if they need them.