Data retention: an assessment of a proposed national scheme

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/JICES-12-2017-0073
Published date11 March 2019
Pages98-112
Date11 March 2019
AuthorMatthew Warren,Shona Leitch
Subject MatterInformation & knowledge management,Information management & governance,Information & communications technology
Data retention: an assessment of a
proposed national scheme
Matthew Warren
Centre for Cyber Security Research and Innovation,
School of Information Technology, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia, and
Shona Leitch
College of Business, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology,
Melbourne, Australia
Abstract
Purpose The information society has developed rapidly since the end of the twentieth century. Many
countries (includingAustralia) have been looking at ways to protect their citizens againstthe variety of risks
associated withthe continued evolution of the internet. The Australian Federal Government in 2013 proposed
data retentionas one possiblemethod of protecting Australian society and aiding law enforcement agenciesto
investigateand prosecute cyber-crime.
Design/methodology/approach The aim of this paper is to consider the issueof data retention from a
stakeholders perspective by analysing the public submissions garnered by the Australian Federal
Government andidentify the key issues and concerns that were raisedby these stakeholders. The paper used
a qualitativeapproach to undertake theme analysis.
Findings The paper shows the concerns and wishes that different stakes holders have regarding data
retentionwithin Australia.
Originality/value This is a unique study into implementation of dataretention at a national level, in
terms of the paperfocussing on Australia.
Keywords Australia, Retention, Internet, Data
Paper type Case study
1. Introduction
The development of the informationsociety has resulted in a boom in online systems, some
of the most prolic being social mediasystems which caused a huge increase in online social
interaction via social media channels; but it has also seen an increase in anti-social illegal
activities including cyber-crime. Cyber-crime has become an important issue for all
countries including Australia,this is partially because of the complexity of these crimesand
the impact they have on law enforcement agencies including theirability to investigate and
prosecute cyber-crimes.
The Australian Federal Government released an intelligence and law enforcement
discussion report that was considered by the Australian Federal Parliamentary Joint
Committee on Intelligence and Security (Australian Government, 2012) in 2012. This report
proposed that Australian internetservice providers (ISPs) should retain telecommunication
and internet usage information for a period of up to two years so that law enforcement
agencies could gain access to that information to aid their investigations. The rationale for
these changes is the ability to provide Australian law enforcement agencies the necessary
information to investigatehigh tech crimes. The report itself (Australian Government,2012)
identies high tech crimes as covering identity crime, sales of illicit products, credit card
JICES
17,1
98
Received19 December 2017
Revised29 January 2018
Accepted29 January 2018
Journalof Information,
Communicationand Ethics in
Society
Vol.17 No. 1, 2019
pp. 98-112
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1477-996X
DOI 10.1108/JICES-12-2017-0073
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/1477-996X.htm

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