On January 25, 2011, the US Department of Justice brought the issue of mandatory data retention to the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. Currently, there is no law requiring internet service providers (ISPs) to retain user data, and ISP retention practices are inconsistent in terms of type of data and retention period. Law enforcement authorities have long argued that mandatory data retention would advance criminal investigations, especially those dealing with child pornography and sexual predators. Critics argue that retention of user data would result in numerous privacy and freedom of speech [...]