Data Retention: Privacy, Anonymity, And Accountability Online‪.‬

INTRODUCTION Motivated by a strong sense of vulnerability to the threat posed by those who cheered as the World Trade Center and Pentagon burned in September 2001, governments worldwide are working to strengthen the hand of law enforcement agencies. The complexity and success of the transcontinental conspiracy to decimate the most recognizable symbols of U.S. power have fundamentally reoriented thinking on the extent to which individuals should be allowed to conduct their activities out of view of law enforcement authorities. As an instrument for clandestine communication, the Internet has been a lightning rod for criticism. What were once portrayed as the medium's virtues, particularly its empowerment of "little people" whose voices are not heard in traditional broadcast and print media, (1) are now characterized as mixed blessings. The "vast democratic forums of the Internet" (2) are also seen as "a powerful new medium for those who wish to commit criminal and terrorist acts." (3)