What is Communications Data?

[Ian G Batten]

On Mon, 18 Nov 2002, Watkin Simon wrote:
> It is "a" model Tonto.  Loads of people at that stage the communications
> evolutionary ladder sill do that.

Yes, but...

> >  How does that work in
> > the world of DSL, broadband, internet connection sharing, routers
> > costing less than walkin' abaht money, Squid hardly requiring a PhD to
> > compile, etc?
> 
> It doesn't.  Life becomes one long session, for which there is "a" log.
> That must be (b). Yes?

How do you extricate the users?  Consider my home cache: I chuck the
squid logs daily, because I see no need to keep them.  The web requests
coming out of my house will be the union of mine, my wife's, my
children's, and occasionally those of the neighbour to whom I've lent an
802.11b adapter.  And I've installed similar rigs for several friends:
chez J it'll be him, his wife, his children and their lodger.  Chez D
him, his wife, his son, and the elderly lady next door for whom he has
drilled a hole in the wall and run a length of 100BaseT ethernet to.

Does this all tend to mean that anyone who owns a computer should not
trust anyone else to use it, on the grounds they may be challenged over
the use?  Do I have a legal duty to ensure that other people do not use
my computer for illegal purposes?  If so, that would be a new
development in law, as I don't have that duty over my car.

ian