FBI wants Internet records kept 2 years

By Jeremy Pelofsky and Michele Gershberg

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK - The Federal Bureau of Investigation wants

U.S. Internet providers to retain Web address records for up to two years to aid

investigations into terrorism and pornography, a source familiar with the matter

said.

The request came during a May 26 meeting between U.S. Attorney General

Alberto Gonzales and FBI Director Robert Mueller with top executives at

companies like Google Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Time Warner Inc.'s AOL.

"I think there is less of a willingness to passively go along with this

type of request than there might have been a year ago," said the source,

mentioning the recent uproar over a report that telephone companies had provided

call records to the National Security Agency.

A Justice Department spokesman confirmed the meeting but was not immediately

available to comment on how long law enforcement officials wanted the records

retained.

"This meeting was an initial discussion for the Attorney General to

gather information and to solicit input from Internet service provider

executives on the issues associated with data retention," said spokesman

Brian Roehrkasse.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Gonzales presented

blurred images of child pornography and explained why he thought retaining data

was important to those investigations. At issue was Internet protocol addresses.

When one industry executive questioned how long the government wanted the

records kept, Mueller said for two years and that the data would also be used

for anti-terrorism purposes, said the source.

The Justice Department has tangled before with Internet companies over

gaining access to records, subpoenaing search data from Google to defend an

online pornography law. The government cut the size of its demand and Google

acquiesced.

In that instance, Microsoft and Yahoo Inc. had turned over search information

after receiving assurances that no specific customer data was involved.

The IP address is key to unlocking what a person does online, what site they

visited what terms they searched, who they e-mailed and what they downloaded,

the source noted. Internet providers usually change the address data within

several days to several weeks.

Two big high-speed Internet service providers, Verizon Communications and

Comcast Corp., also attended the meeting last week, the source said.

The Justice Department spokesman said Internet companies would retain the

information and the government would only gain access to the records through

legal means like a subpoena. "Internet service providers would retain the

information," Roehrkasse said.

If Congress is going to be asked to pass legislation ordering Internet

providers to retain data they won't be asked for content of that data but rather

addresses e-mails were sent and sites they visited, Roehrkasse said.

Recommendations are expected to be submitted to Gonzales in the next several

weeks, according to another source.

Data retention is a "complicated issue with implications not only for

efforts to combat child pornography but also for security, privacy, safety, and

availability of low-cost or free Internet services," said Microsoft senior

security strategist Phil Reitinger.

Google spokesman Steve Langdon said proposals by the United States and

European Union on data retention "require careful review and must balance

the legitimate interests of individual users, law enforcement agencies, and

Internet companies."

The Justice Department's chief privacy officer on Thursday met with a group

of officials from rights groups including the Electronic Privacy Information

Center, the Center for American Progress, Cato Institute, the Center for

Democracy and Technology, Roehrkasse said.

The American Civil Liberties Union was also invited but did not attend, he

said. Other Justice Department officials were meeting with victims rights groups

and law enforcement groups to discuss the same issues.

(Additional reporting Deborah Charles in Washington, Daisuke Wakabayashi in

Seattle and Eric Auchard in San Francisco)