If Democratic Rep. John Mizuno has his way, the state of Hawaii would keep track of every web site one visits.
The proposed legislation, H.B. 2288, would require Internet service providers, or ISP's, to collect and retain for two years, data on every website residents visit.
Declan McCullagh writes at CNET:
Its House of Representatives has scheduled a hearing this morning on a new bill (PDF) requiring the creation of virtual dossiers on state residents. The measure, H.B. 2288, says "Internet destination history information" and "subscriber's information" such as name and address must be saved for two years.
Senate Majority Whip Jill Tokuda, a Democrat, introduced similar legislation intended to "address concerns raised by Rep. Kymberly Pine” whose email account was reportedly hacked last summer.
At the time, Pine - a Republican - said she would advocate "tougher cyber laws at the Hawaii State Capitol."
CNET, however, reports that Pine is now backing away from the so-called "Internet dossier law":
A Hawaii politician who proposed requiring Internet providers to record every Web site their customers visit is now backing away from the controversial legislation.
Rep. Kymberly Pine, an Oahu Republican and the House minority floor leader, told CNET this evening that her intention was to protect “victims of crime,” not compile virtual dossiers on every resident of–or visitor to–the Aloha State who uses the Internet.
“We do not want to know where everyone goes on the Internet,” Pine said. “That’s not our interest. We just want the ability for law enforcement to be able to capture the activities of crime.”
The bill being considered simply says:
Any internet service provider that provides internet service to a consumer in the State shall retain consumer records for no less than two years. The required data for the consumer records shall include each subscriber’s information and internet destination history information. Destination information shall include any of the following:
(1) Internet protocol address;
(2) Domain name; or
(3) Host name.
The bill, as written, provides no privacy protection whatsoever, and could apply to any company that provides services on the Internet, including AT&T and Verizon. McCullagh notes the bill also provides no security requirements "such as mandating the use of encryption."
The measure is not welcome by Hawaiian ISP's, as McCullagh notes:
"This bill represents a radical violation of privacy and opens the door to rampant Fourth Amendment violations," says Daniel Leuck, chief executive of Honolulu-based software design boutique Ikayzo, who submitted testimony opposing the bill. He adds: "Even forcing telephone companies to record everyone's conversations, which is unthinkable, would be less of an intrusion."
"H.B. 2288 raises all of the traditional concerns associated with data retention, and then some," said Kate Dean of the U.S. Internet Service Provider Association in Washington, D.C.
The bill, if enacted, would impact the more than six million tourists who visits the islands every year.
----------------------------------------------------------
If you like this article, you can follow Joe on Twitter @jnewby1956, visit his Facebook page, or click the Subscribe button to receive email updates when a new article is published.
Comments