E-mail and chat data to be stored 'within a month'

Dublin- Records of e-mails and internet chat messages sent and received by Irish residents - and the times they log on and off the internet - will have to be stored for three years. The scheme will be implemented within a month.
The Irish Times has learned the Department of Justice intends to effect a controversial EU data retention directive affecting e-mail and web usage "within a month", according to a department spokeswoman. Due to the short timescale, the department will need to use a statutory instrument rather than use primary legislation. The content of messages will not be retained, but information specifying who sent and received all e-mail and chat messages, the date and time, and the size of the message would have to be retained. Internet protocol addresses, which define individual users or computers on the net, will also be retained. The directive would likely affect individuals and small to medium businesses, and not private business networks used by large multinationals.
Industry observers and privacy advocates have argued the new EU directive is so vague that internet service providers remain uncertain of what information they need to retain, or how they are to retain and manage it. Despite the short timetable for implementation, industry bodies had not been told yet that the Government planned to bring forward the statutory instrument.
Ireland received warning letters from the EU last month because it is now three months overdue to implement the directive.