Is it legal to log an IP address WITH an online name?

Question

I am working on a "database" style of program that logs data such as an IP address, Steam Name, and Steam64 ID. I own a small game server company that hosts servers for a game called "Unturned" but we also plans on having servers for more games. I have a few deals with similar gaming communities, however, their staff tend to join my servers and crash them. Just to have more players join their servers.

The Use of this program is that I can put in an IP address and check if it has any Alts on record with the same IP address. So in case it is a staff member of one of these communities I can report that back to management of that community. This program does not automatically log Ip addresses, Only if I manually log them. I'm just wanting to know if there is anything illegal with this before I put it into action. (For those who do not know what a Steam name is or a Steam64 ID, A steam name is an online name, no connection to a real name, and can be changed freely. A steam64 ID is a number used to identify a steam account and is found in the user's profile URL) (I am in Australia)

Answer 1

IANAL, but I deal with analogous problems in banking & healthcare (US & EU) with the help of lawyers. My opinion only.

Unless there's an explicit way in the logs to associate an IP with an individuals name, there's no issue in any jurisdiction I'm aware of. The issue here is the relationship between a 'Steam Name' and a real name. I'm not familiar with how Steam works, but I assume Steam Name & Steam64 ID are abstracted from an individuals real name in the context of a log. You'll have to make that call, or get a lawyer to call it for you. If there's a concern, you can always protect yourself by only recording the hash of an identifier (I would think IP addy in this case, or perhaps IP & Steam Name) in the logs. That way you can still search the logs, but possessing the logs reveals no PII.