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LINX NEW YEAR WARNING: "DATA RETENTION PLANS WILL ADD COSTS FOR USERS"The London Internet Exchange (LINX) - the UK's largest membership organisation for Internet service providers - has started the New Year by issuing a warning that European plans to force ISPs to collect traffic data will add to costs for Internet users. "It would be nothing less than a hidden tax on Internet users who will be obliged to pay for the costs of government snooping," said Malcolm Hutty, regulation officer with LINX. The European Council of Ministers is currently considering legislation which would force ISPs to collect and retain a wide variety of data about the traffic which they handle. It is intended that this data would be made available to law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Malcolm Hutty said: "At present, ISPs in the UK are required only to store information that they already collect for their own administration and billing purposes - not to collect data specifically for the government. "The proposals from the European Council of Ministers, as we understand them, mean that the EU will tell ISPs what data to collect and store as well as defining how long it must be kept." The council's own statement says that the draft Framework Decision on data retention "implies in principle that providers of publicly available electronic communications services or networks must retain specified data allowing for establishing the source, routing, destination, time, date and duration of communications and the location of the telecommunications devices used." Mr Hutty said: "The EU is investigating ways of enforcing this level of data retention even where ISPs have no use for the information. For example, an ISP providing a 'permanently on' broadband connection generally has no interest in knowing specifically when the line was in use and for what purpose. The EU is seemingly going to make ISPs collect and store that data. "The cost implications are huge. As we do not know what data we might be collecting, it is impossible to estimate what the costs will actually be. The sky is the limit. "At the end of the day, the only source of money to finance this will be Internet users. ISPs will have to put up charges in order to finance data collection and retention for the government." The European Council of Ministers does say that, in considering new rules, "particular consideration should be given to the proportionality of the measure in relation to costs, privacy (data protection) and efficiency." However, LINX is concerned that since the cost will fall on ISPs - and ultimately on Internet users - the council will not give much weight to this issue. Mr Hutty said: "The EU is still consulting on these proposals and we will be strongly putting forward the industry's viewpoint that they could represent a huge financial burden to be carried by Internet users." END Notes to editors: 1.London Internet Exchange (LINX) is the world’s largest volume Internet hub and the UK’s largest membership organisation for Internet services providers (ISPs). A non-profit organisation founded in 1994, it operates high-capacity switching facilities at eight London-based tele-hotels where its 170 members interconnect their networks to provide customers with rapid, cost-effective data transmission. LINX handles around 90 per cent of UK Internet traffic and its members include ISPs from the UK, continental Europe, the USA, Far East and Africa. For more information about LINX visit www.linx.net 2.Malcolm Hutty was appointed regulation officer at LINX in May 2003, succeeding Roland Perry. Malcolm has been actively involved for the past ten years in public policy issues as they affect Internet regulation. 3.LINX has for many years provided government departments and law enforcement agencies in the UK and overseas with expert advice on a wide range of Internet-related legislation and other issues. Its advice has covered areas as diverse as high-tech crime, child pornography, data protection and the defence of critical infrastructure. It also provides substantial financial support for the Internet Watch Foundation, which since 1996 has aimed to eliminate child abuse images from the UK Internet. |