Promoting and protecting digital rights since 1994

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Updates from EFA
Uncategorized

Regulate the system, not the child

This post was written by EFA Vice Chair Julian Watchorn. The lessons emerging from AI governance debates are directly relevant to online safety, where reliance on voluntary compliance and identity-based controls threatens privacy and rights while leaving harmful platform design largely unregulated.  Much of the current debate about children’s online safety has narrowed to age verification and age-based bans. While age limits have a place, they risk diverting attention from the underlying problem. The central

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Artificial Intelligence

Digital Fairness, AI Self-Regulation and the Limits of Voluntary Safety Framework

This post was written by EFA Vice Chair Julian Watchorn and EFA board member Kirsten Frederiksen. 1. The Limits of Corporate Self-Regulation A longstanding axiom in public policy is that corporate self-regulation is ineffective whenvast sums of money are at stake. This has been demonstrated repeatedly across sectors such as finance, environmental protection, tobacco, gambling, and digital platforms. Where commercial incentives strongly favour rapid growth, market dominance, or first-mover advantage, voluntary safeguards tend to weaken,

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Uncategorized

Results of 2025 EFA Annual General Meeting

Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) held its Annual General Meeting on 29 November 2025, with 16 candidates vying for 7 board positions.  We used Opavote to manage the election process and, after the processing of preferences, we welcome the re-appointment of our existing board members and the appointment of 5 new board members for 2025/2026. Thank you to those who participated in the nomination process but missed out on being selected. We appreciate your passion for

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Internet Governance

5 Pieces of Advice for Teens Impacted by  the Social Media Ban 

1. Acknowledge and Validate Your Feelings 2. Prioritise and Maintain Your Key Connections 3. Preserve Your Memories and Content 4. Explore Alternative, Age-Appropriate Spaces 5. Remember: This is a Pause, Not a Permanent End If you’re feeling overwhelmed or need to talk to someone right now, please reach out to: Image credit: Vitaly Gariev

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Infrastructure

EFA Condemns Government’s “Opportunity-First” AI Plan: Our Safety Sacrificed as Ex Ante Laws Are Bumped

Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) condemned the Australian Government’s decision to abandon standalone, ex ante (proactive) AI legislation, warning the imminent National AI Plan prioritises “opportunity-first” adoption at the expense of citizen safety, fundamental digital rights and basic legal safeguards. “The early signals are clear,” said EFA Chair John Pane. “Many people are unaware that this Big Tech and Big Business friendly light touch approach to regulation was also used in the implementation of the National

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General

Notice of Annual General Meeting

The EFA Annual General Meeting is to be held on Saturday, 29 November 2025 at 13.00 AEDT.  The meeting will be held on Google Meet. Details at end of this email. The Constitution dictates that at least five positions are up for election each year and accordingly, there are seven Board positions open for election. All currently serving Board members are eligible to nominate again, should they choose to do so.  Meeting Agenda The meeting will consider

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What We Do

Policy

We actively monitor a number of policy areas and specific issues. The topics below provide a detailed view of EFA’s policy positions.

Copyright

Australia’s copyright laws are outdated, inflexible and not fit for the digital age. As such, EFA is a long-standing supporter of reform of Australia’s Copyright Act.

Privacy & Security

Privacy is fundamentally about consent and control over access to information, and goes hand-in-hand with security. Privacy is a human right.

Censorship

Adults should be able to make their own informed decisions about what content they create and consume.

Encryption

Access to encryption technologies is vital for individuals and groups to be able to safeguard the security and privacy of their information.

Internet safety

Surveillance is not safety. Safety for whom, against what? This complex problem is more likely to be exacerbated, rather than solved, by measures that allow for unaccountable surveillance and the undermining of communications security.

Surveillance

EFA is committed to ensuring that Australian’s home life is not subject to arbitrary interference.