The cell phone service providers Virgin Mobile and Verizon
retain the content of text messages, according to a Justice Department memo
obtained by the America Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of North Carolina
Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, Sprint, Nextel, and Virgin
Mobile all retain information relating to text messages, such as who the text messages
were sent to and when, but only Verizon and Virgin Mobile retain the actual
content of the text messages. Virgin Mobile keeps text message content for 90
days and Verizon keeps it for 3 to 5 days.
The Justice Department document, “Retention
Periods of Major Cellular Providers,” was published in 2010 as a guide for
law enforcement agents seeking to obtain cell phone records.
The document also reveals that Verizon, Sprint and Nextel
retain IP session and destination information, potentially allowing law
enforcement to ascertain what sites someone has visited on their cell phone.
Information that could be used to determine the movement of
a cell phones is also retained by the cell phone service providers. Cell phones
continuously transmit data to cell-sites scattered across the nation and cell
phone service providers keep records of the this geolocational data,
essentially recording the physical movement of anyone carrying a cell phone.
Verizon and T-Mobile keep that data for one year, Sprint and
Nextel keep it up to two years, and AT&T keeps it indefinitely.
ACLU affiliates in 34 states across the U.S.
"The ability to access cell phone location data is an
incredibly powerful tool and its use is shrouded in secrecy," said
Catherine Crump, staff attorney for the ACLU Speech, Privacy and Technology
Project. "The public has a right to know how and under what circumstances
their location information is being accessed by the government."
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