People often discover that modern tools with new and useful purposes can also be used in damaging and unwanted ways -- one such example is the Internet.
U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales indicated in a speech last Thursday at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that the Internet is increasingly being used in conjunction with serious crimes like child pornography.
Gonzales discussed the difficulties the federal government faces when trying to address these crimes, including how necessary data is often unavailable.
"Unfortunately, the failure of some Internet service providers to keep records has hampered our ability to conduct investigations," Gonzales said in prepared remarks made available by the Department of Justice. "Record retention ... consistent with the legitimate privacy rights of Americans is an issue that must be addressed."
First-year College student Colin Lloyd said it does not bother him that many online businesses already keep records about what people do on the Internet.
"If you don't want companies tracking you, don't go to the Web sites," Lloyd said.
He said there would be a big difference, however, if the government required companies to keep information because then he could not avoid being tracked.
Required record-keeping is "totally in violation of free speech," Lloyd said. "To live in our society, you have to use the Internet, and if you can't do it privately, that's not fair."
Lloyd said he does not want the government to be able to see what people do, even if that is the only way to find out who may be committing crimes on the Internet.
Lloyd said data gathering is fine but there is no reason to watch everybody, citing the prosecution of drug dealers as an example.
"They catch people who are actually selling drugs, not the people in drug areas," Lloyd said.
On the other hand, third-year Commerce student Steve Brady said he thought the government should look into the issues of record-keeping in order to identify problems that may otherwise go unnoticed.
Not everyone uses the Internet for legal purposes, Brady said. But "the World Wide Web is open for everybody."
Brady discussed how anonymity on the Internet can contribute to the significance of these crimes.
"Anything you do over a [network] line does not feel real," Brady said.
Brady, who said he does not worry about conspiracy theories, said he is not afraid to let the government try to break through this anonymity.
"I say we should take them at their word and believe that they are only looking at the information to prosecute [crimes like] child pornography," Brady said.
One thing he said he did wonder about was whether required record-keeping would put an extra financial burden on the Internet providers.
Given their function as a public gateway to the Internet, however, Brady said, "They may have at least some obligation to serve the public interest."
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