Do you hear it? That rhythmic beat is the sound of the data retention drum being thumped by politicians and security figures. On Monday, at a conference of international police chiefs, head of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff told his audience that terrorists were using the Internet to radicalize without having to travel. Yesterday, FBI Director Robert Mueller showed up at the same conference and delivered a similar message. "Terrorists coordinate their plans cloaked in the anonymity of the Internet, as do violent sexual predators prowling chat rooms," he said, according to CNet.

At Ars Technica.

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