Why not, once the digital age started, the price of storing records has dropped dramatically. Yea, it was really expensive back in the day, but don't forget how much we paid for phone service back then too.
>Why not, once the digital age started, the price of storing records has dropped dramatically.
How come your default is "why not"? Shouldn't there be a justification for indefinitely storing these types of records? And "might commit a crime in the future" doesn't qualify.
>Shouldn't there be a justification for indefinitely storing these types of records?
As the devils advocate, why should their be?
Also, deleting stuff in the business world is a major pain in the ass. Do we delete it after X years? What if part of that data is involved in a long term lawsuit, how do we only delete the part that is not? Will the information have historical value at some point?
And the big one, the telephone company has worked with our governments for decades sharing this information. The real question is "How long has the .gov been paying the telcos for these records". This is probably why they are stored forever.