Data retention is a very important matter to a lot of online users– either because they’re looking for an ideal experience, or because it’s the very thing they’re looking to avoid as much as possible.  Nevertheless, privacy concerns don’t seem to worry Yahoo, who is extending the amount of time it will retain data logs about users, to a lengthy 18 months. This is a huge leap from the previous 90 day retention limit.

“How this effects you as a user depends on whether you rely on Yahoo! or not for searching the Internet” Geek.com reports.  “If you use an alternative like Google, then your data is already being held on servers for double-digit months. If your reason for choosing Yahoo! was the short data retention window, then it’s time to look for an alternative search provider.”

In comparison, the European Union called for a data retention limit of 6 months, and it’s currently reviewing its data retention laws after receiving a 27-page report composed by the UK Open Rights Group. This, however, is not the only legal clash going on it the European data retention space – France is currently the center of attention for its regulatory dealings with some of the biggest players in tech.

A new decree released by the French government requires service providers, web mail providers, e-commerce companies, and online music and video sites to retain users’ visits, usernames, passwords, pseudonyms, mailing addresses, phone numbers, and passwords for one whole year. About 2 weeks ago, the French Association of Community Internet Services which includes eBay, Facebook, Google and somewhat ironically Yahoo, turned to France’s highest administrative court to annul the decree.

Google is a member of that association, but it’s also facing data retention troubles back in the U.S. The New Jersey Library Association has handed over a draft to the FCC outlining its concerns regarding Google. The association wants to limit Google Books data retention to extremely short periods of time.