FBI wants customer data from ISPs

ISPs may be under further pressure to provide the government with customer information.

FBI director Robert Mueller last Tuesday said he wants ISPs to hold on to customer data -- which typically is deleted within a few months -- to help law enforcement better.

The feds says this customer information could help the government track down possible terrorist threats, as well as find other criminals, such as online predators.

“Today, terrorists coordinate their plans cloaked in the anonymity of the Internet, as do violent sexual predators prowling chat rooms,” Mueller said in a speech he delivered to the International Association of Chiefs of Police in Boston.

“According to our Cyber Division, nearly one out of three computer users has experienced some type of negative incident. All too often, we find that before we can catch these offenders, [ISPs] have unwittingly deleted the very records that would help us identify these offenders and protect future victims.”

Industry watchers believe the FBI’s request will fuel arguments over privacy and infringements on civil liberties. “We must find a balance between the legitimate need for privacy and law enforcement’s clear need for access,” Mueller went on to say.

There are no laws on the books today that force ISPs to retain all customer information, but the government could move in that direction. Today, ISPs generally save customer information beyond a set period of time only when they're cooperating with a law enforcement investigation.