Last week, eWeek ran an interesting article in which Microsoft privacy chief Brendon Lynch essentially said that search engine technology depends on some degree of data retention. The issue of how websites collect, store, and use data--and how they notify users of their practices--is going to receive continuing scrutiny from policy makers in 2009. European officials may lead the charge, but other regions will also be examining data retention practices and may develop new regulations. Lynch offers a word of caution, noting that data retention is not simply about mining data to maximize profit. Instead data retention improves services, as well as helps identify security threats, prevent click fraud, and so on. The other issue will be defining what constitutes data retention and anonymization. This is a technical issue that tech professionals can help officials understand. Wiping away a whole IP address is very different from wiping away just 8 digits out of 32, which some companies claim is sufficient anonymization.

Whatever happens, tech consultants will need to help customers adjust to new rules--or beat their competitors by providing better data handling practices. It could be a headache, an opportunity, or both.

Happy holidays to all VFI members. Thanks for reading.