Web-based mail exempt from data retention Sunday, July 19, 2009 By Adrian Weckler and Dick O’Brien Hotmail, Gmail and Yahoo Mail users will be exempt from the government’s new telecoms surveillance bill, according to industry experts.
The Retention of Data Bill, published by the Minister for Justice to combat serious criminal offences, compels internet and telephone operators to retain customer data on calls, texts and e-mails for up to two years.
But a loophole will result in the majority of Irish email accounts falling outside its provisions - including the users of popular web-based services such as Hotmail, Gmail and Yahoo Mail. The bill’s provisions will also not affect communications on social networking sites such as Facebook, Bebo and Twitter.
Industry estimates put the number of Irish web e-mail users at over two million, while 1.5 million Irish people have Bebo and Facebook accounts. Data on these services will not be retrievable without the co-operation of companies such as Google, Yahoo and Facebook.
A spokeswoman for Yahoo, which is based outside the state, said that its company’s customer privacy rules did not allow it to share data with outside organisations. Users of Skype may also escape the provisions of the Data Retention Bill.
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