3B.— (1) A service provider shall retain, in accordance with section 12D, internet source data for a period of one year, or such period as may be prescribed in accordance with subsection (2), from the date on which the data were first processed by the service provider concerned.

(2) The Minister may, for the purposes of subsection (1), prescribe such period (which may be less than one year, and which shall not exceed two years) as he or she considers necessary for, and proportionate to, the purposes of safeguarding the security of the State or achieving the objectives specified in section 6C(1)(b).]