Hawaii’s proposed online tracking law comes under fire from ISPs, civil libertarians

There’s some trouble brewing in paradise, because of a seemingly draconian law currently into consideration in Hawaii’s state legislature. If passed, H.B. 2288 will require all ISPs in the state to trace and store information on their customers, including details on every website they visit, in addition to their very own names and addresses. The measure, introduced on Friday, also demands this data to be recorded on each customer’s digital file and stored for a whole two years. Perhaps most troubling is the truth that the bill includes virtually no restrictions on how ISPs can use (read: “sell”) this knowledge, nor does it specify whether law enforcement authorities would want a court order to acquire a user’s dossier from an ISP . And, since it applies to any firm that “provides access to the net,” the law could conceivably be expanded to incorporate not only service providers, but internet cafes, hotels or other businesses.

Democratic Representative John Mizuno is the lead sponsor of the bill, though his support already appears to be waning. Not long after H.B. 2288 was introduced, Republican Representative Kymberly Pine told CNET that she could be withdrawing her support for it, adding that her intent was to not track Hawaiian web surfing, but to easily protect “victims of crime.” “We don’t need to know where everyone goes on the net,” Pine explained. “That is not our interest. We just want the facility for law enforcement so as to capture the activities of crime.” Pine went directly to acknowledge that the proposal has come under fire from many civil libertarians and internet companies in the state, and that the measure is frequently revised. On reflection, she said, the thought of storing personal information “was somewhat broad,” and Hawaii’s lawmakers “deserved” the criticism they received during today’s hearing.