Hacker News Reader

They are legally required to if they fall under FCC jurisdiction.

For entities that fall under the jurisdiction of the Federal Communications Commission (the “FCC”), “[e]ach carrier that offers or bills toll telephone service shall retain for a period of 18 months such records as are necessary to provide . . . billing information . . ..” (47 C.F.R. § 42.6).

https://morningconsult.com/2017/04/25/tech-groups-push-fcc-u...

View on HN

The possibility to steal years of call records doesn't arise because of a legal requirement to retain such records for 18 months.

You can meet those legal requirements while (a) deleting all records after 18 months have passed and (b) storing all 'archive' records (e.g. between 30 days and 18 months) on a separate system that's only used for these specific requirements and has all access (which should be rare and narrowly specific, unlike daily business) logged.

Any opinions on whether this practice continues to serve the general good of the society? The comment above about austerity has a ring of truthiness to it that is very difficult to ignore.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com