Gonzales wants ISPs to save user data
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Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Tuesday that Congress should require Internet providers to preserve customer records, asserting that prosecutors need them to fight child pornography.
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(InfoWorld) - U.S. lawmakers promised to push ahead legislation aimed at cracking down on pretexting despite some objections from telecom carriers and the U.S. Department of Justice. Nearly all the members of the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee pledged to push the Prevention of Fraudulent Access to Phone Records Act, which would give the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) authority to file lawsuits against pretexters and the people who hire them. The bill would also require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to draw up new rules for telecom carriers to protect private phone records, and it would prevent carriers from sharing customer information with third parties without permission. Despite some concerns about the bill, lawmakers said consumers need protection against pretexting, the practice of posing as a telecom customer to obtain phone records and other private information. "Someone with bad intentions and a few bucks can get a hold of almost anybody's cell phone records," said Representative Fred Upton, a Michigan Republican. President George Bush signed a bill creating criminal penalties for pretexting in January. But proponents of the Prevention of Fraudulent Access to Phone Records Act say the extra protections in the bill are also needed. The Energy and Commerce Committee approved the same bill during the last session of Congress, but the legislation apparently was held up on the House floor because of concerns from federal law enforcement agencies that the bill could slow efforts to get information on terrorism suspects. Lawmakers from both parties complained that they received little explanation about why the bill died last year. Thomas Navin, chief of the FCC's Wireline Bureau, said the Department of Justice was concerned that the FCC would set up rules that consumers are notified too soon after their phone records were accessed by someone else. The DOJ wanted a delay of seven days before consumers were notified, he said. But Representative Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, said consumers should be notified immediately. "I don't think the Department of Justice should be listened to on that issue," he said. "I think [victims] should be listened to on that issue." Markey pointed to news reports this week saying the FBI may have violated the law and its internal rules while collecting telephone, data, and other personal records through the Patriot Act. "There is still a lack of respect for the law of our country," he said. Beyond the law enforcement concerns, representatives of trade groups the United States Telecom Association and CTIA-The Wireless Association said the bill could prevent them from sharing customer information with third parties that market complementary products. CTIA members don't share customers' personal information with unrelated groups, but the carriers do use third-party vendors to market wireless-related products, said Steve Largent, CTIA's president and CEO. But Representative Joe Barton, a Texas Republican, questioned industry concerns about language in the bill that could require carriers to get opt-in permission from customers to share their personal data. "It seems if we want to protect privacy, we should change this from opt out to opt in," he said.
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Imagine being able to check instantly   whether or not statements made by politicians were correct.   That is the sort of service Google Inc. GOOG.O boss Eric   Schmidt believes the Internet will offer within five years.
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U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said the government is committed to fighting piracy and cybercrime, during a speech in Seattle.
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Claiming national security concerns, and backed by Justice Department special counsel, the phone provider argues in federal court that a lawsuit against it for ponying up millions of phone records for a secret government data-mining program should be dismissed. Ryan Singel reports from the courthouse.
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Internet service providers have to walk a fine line between fairness and profitability. Users want maximum service, and are entitled to honest contracts. Maybe there's a way to help everyone at once.
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Fix prevents users from sharing their files and printers with the entire Internet.
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Google has responded to a U.S. congressman&#39;s series of questions about its privacy practices, with the company defending its use of consumer data.
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The US is considering forcing ISPs to keep data so what can they learn from the European model?
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In a recent interview, privacy advocate Marc Rotenberg said it isn't clear how government agencies or companies will use the personal data that they collect via things such as identity and shopping courtesy cards.
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More data = more damage, when breached Silicon Justice The US Congress is trying to land a one-two sucker punch on internet service providers (ISPs).â¦
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Civil liberties groups join the Department of Justice to protest a ruling that said ISPs can freely monitor e-mail. By Ryan Singel.
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Attorney General Gonzales assures tech execs of the government's commitment.
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(InfoWorld) - The U.S. Department of Justice and President George Bush are committed to fighting intellectual-property theft and cybercrime, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told a small audience in Seattle on Wednesday morning. He cited a number of initiatives the DOJ has launched in the past year and detailed a few high-profile arrests of cybercriminals as examples of the government's focus on the issues. Just last month in Seattle, for example, authorities indicted Robert Soloway, known as the "spam king," for his role in sending millions of spam e-mails and selling useless mass e-mailing products and services. "In bringing cases like this, we recognize that spam is not just an annoyance," Gonzales said. The DOJ has 240 federal prosecutors around the country who are trained to address complex computer crimes, he said. This week, many of them are attending a meeting in Florida with computer industry experts to beef up their training in how to respond to cyber incidents, he said. The DOJ has a similar number of prosecutors who are specially trained to handle intellectual-property theft investigations. Gonzales pointed to another local arrest from last year that was possible because of the work the DOJ is doing to prosecute such criminals. Scott Laney, a Washington man, was sentenced to five years in prison and fined more than $9 million for his role in acquiring Microsoft software at reduced rates and illegally reselling it at near market value. "The stiff sentence in this case shows modern-day pirates that we take these crimes seriously," Gonzales said. His biggest concern is that piracy is an easy way for criminals to raise money that could be used for other illicit activities, including terrorism. "It's more than just a question of protecting IP, it's a question of security," he said. The DOJ is also reaching out to overseas governments in hopes of encouraging them to crack down on intellectual-property crime. Last year, the DOJ provided training to more than 3,000 foreign prosecutors, investigators and judges in more than 100 countries, he said. "IP theft is undeniably an international concern," he said. Gonzales spoke at an event organized by TechNet Northwest, an association of technology companies that focuses on public policy and politics to help promote the high-tech economy. The event was also promoted by the Discovery Institute, a group that promotes creationism. Around 50 people attended. Gonzales didn't touch on a more sensitive local issue: The firing of Western Washington U.S. Attorney John McKay late last year. A small group of Seattlites didn't forget though, gathering outside of the hotel where Gonzales spoke to protest the firing and other issues.
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Investigators must have a court's approval before they can order internet providers to turn over records without telling customers, according to U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero. The recently rewritten Patriot Act "offends the fundamental constitutional principles of checks and balances and separation of powers," the judge rules.
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The announcement yesterday by Attorney General John Ashcroft that the Justice Department had executed search warrants on five homes and one ISP in connection with alleged illegal copying and sharing of music and movie files didnât necessarily send
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Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Tuesday that Congress should require Internet service providers to preserve customer records, asserting that prosecutors need them to fight child pornography.