Australian telcos warn of criminal advantage in data retention

Criminals could take to smaller telcos or internet service providers to escape the Federal Government’s proposed data retention regime, Telstra and iiNet have warned.

The telcos fronted a parliamentary committee inquiring into the retention proposal, which aims to keep telecommunications metadata for two years.

Representatives for Australia’s largest carriers warned that criminals could simply move to smaller internet service providers and telcos to escape the purview of spy agencies hoping to use captured metadata to make associations or connections between suspects.