reality BYTES

19 July 2009  By Adrian Weckler

Unbelievable. That is the only word to describe the loophole that the new Retention of Data bill has created.

For those who missed it, the bill seeks to compel telephone and internet operators to retain details of emails, text messages and phone calls for up to two years. This is to help fight crime. But what are the most popular e-mail services for Irish users?

That’s right: Hotmail, Yahoo Mail and Gmail. Will any of these e-mail services be covered by the bill? Nope. Will messages or instant chat on Facebook, Bebo and Twitter be covered under the bill? No again.

And it gets worse. The bill is supposed to track telephone calls to identify who called who at what time. But will it cover calls made on Skype, Blueface or any of the dozens of VOIP services that Irish people use in their thousands? Nope. Will it cover Skype calls made on mobile phones (like the iPhone or 3’s Inq phone)? No again.

The state’s view of criminals’ communications habits is quite clear. They use a contract mobile phone to make and receive calls and texts. They use a Microsoft Exchange e-mail account hosted with a recognised Irish internet service provider.

And they have an Eircom phone line, on which they organise gang meetings with key lieutenants.

I would really like to know who drafted this bill. What age are they? Have they ever heard of social networking sites? Have they ever heard of Skype? Or do they simply think that organised criminals are complete idiots who openly converse with each other on server-hosted Microsoft Exchange e-mail accounts?

Dermot Ahern, the minister in charge of the bill, should know better. He used to be the Minister for Communications.

But spokesmen for the government dodged the question of web-based communications when it was asked of them. If the government were serious about this initiative, it would attempt to force Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Facebook, Skype and Bebo to comply with its regulations.

It has not made any of these companies aware of the bill, nor is it likely to.

This bill is a bit of a screw up, a document crafted in hope or naivety - or both. With it, another government attempt to control the internet fails.

Let us hope that the bill can be revised to take a more realistic approach to its subject matter.

Blog: www.yourtech stuff.com; Twitter: adrianweckler