U.S. Gov't To Keep Data On Non-Terrorist Citizens For 5 Years

arnott writes with this excerpt from the Washington Post: "The Obama administration has approved guidelines that allow counterterrorism officials to lengthen the period of time they retain information about U.S. residents, even if they have no known connection to terrorism. The changes allow the National Counterterrorism Center, the intelligence community's clearinghouse for terrorism data, to keep information for up to five years. Previously, the center was required to promptly destroy — generally within 180 days — any information about U.S. citizens or residents unless a connection to terrorism was evident."

Comments

Re:I'm surprised there is a limit

[0123456]

Don't worry, in five years the limit will be raised to ten years...

Re:I'm surprised there is a limit

[cpu6502]

According to the Supreme Court it could be 1000 years and still be constitutional. That is why Jefferson advised Madison to include a fixed number of years in the Bill of Rights -- that no monopoly should last longer than an author's lifetime.

(And once again Jefferson demonstrated an uncanny ability to predict future events... that the monopoly for artists/media companies would be extended to insanely long terms.)

   

Re:I'm surprised there is a limit

[mr1911]

Or, as the OP eluded to, they just define whatever it is you are doing as a potential terror indicator and then keep your data forever.

Don't worry about being added to the list. You're probably there unless you live a very boring, very sheltered life and speak to no one.

Don't be alarmed. This is all for safety and security. Just not yours.