For much of the last decade the U.S. government has been trying to force data retention requirements on ISPs, most frequently under the banner of fighting child pornography. New bills seem to pop up every year or so, though privacy advocates have traditionally beaten such efforts back. Mandatory ISP data retention was something you'll recall was a priority for the Bush/Gonzales Justice Department, and (much like warrantless wiretapping) is now being championed by the Obama Administration Justice Department.

The latest effort is H.R. 1981: Protecting Children From Internet Pornographers Act of 2011, and is the focus of hearings this week. The bill has support from the The National Sheriffs' Association, who insisted this week the lack of log retention "significantly hinders law enforcement's ability to identify predators when they come across child pornography." However eager law enforcement is for the new law, it appears to have hit a stumbling block -- in that wireless carriers (and hotspot owners) have been excluded, largely due to wireless carrier lobbying. That's resulted in some politicians -- including this latest bill's sponsor -- to have second thoughts.Again, while child pornography is used as the PR face to try and get these laws passed, the primary focus is extending the nation's domestic surveillance capabilities. Or, as the case often is, retroactively making things that the government has already been doing for years, retroactively legal. Groups like EPIC continue to protest the bill, arguing that the collection of more data means more leaked data during security breaches, and the expanded authority will be used well beyond child pornography investigations.