Funferal

Data retention in Ireland

The Irish government has come under fire from privacy advocates over new legislation on data retention by telecoms operators which requires that information be kept for three years. I’m in two minds on this.
First access to data of this sort is important for investigation of a range of activities, from ‘nuisance’ calls to – yes – national security issues. Location data from mobile phones was one form of evidence available in the investigation of the Omagh bombing.
Second, though, I agree that there should be stringent controls to ensure that mis-use does not occur. For this reason a blanket retention for three years does not appear to make sense. Perhaps 6 months (as the data protection commissioner suggested) with the option of retaining for longer periods for specific purposes.