France passes stunning data retention decree for online services

France has just passed a stunning decree that would require online service providers to retain a host of information to be made available to law enforcement, including:

Information furnished when agreeing to a contract or opening an account, including first name, last name, business name, associated mailing addresses, and pseudonyms utilized, associated e-mail addresses and accounts, telephone numbers, and passwords as well as data permitting the verification or modification of the password.

These companies must also keep all user id's and passwords for any internet connection, the IP address of the terminal used to connect, the time and date of every connection, and...

Here's the kicker: for EVERY action of a user on the internet, these companies are now required to record the nature of the operation, whether it is writing an e-mail or downloading an image or video.

This is just a staggering development and thankfully a number of organizations, including Facebook, Google, eBay and others, are challenging this new law.

See: France Goes Overboard In Data Retention: Wants User Passwords Retained | Techdirt.