Promoting And Protecting Digital Rights Since 1994
EFA is an independent non-profit association that relies on membership subscriptions and donations. If you’re concerned about digital rights in Australia, please join or donate today.
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Can Labor implement "clean feed" without legislation?
by Dale Clapperton A question that has been asked a lot recently is this: can Labor implement their ‘clean feed’ proposal without legislative amendments? Much turns on the answer to this question. To get any legislation through the Senate at the moment, Labor require the support of either the Coalition, or all seven of the other Senators (five Greens, plus Steve Fielding and Nick Xenophon). If the Coalition oppose the…
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The Mark Newton letter
There has been a great deal of publicity in recent days about a letter written by Mark Newton, a network engineer with a leading Australian ISP, to a government Minister concerning the Australian government’s proposed mandatory Internet censorship scheme. The letter resulted in an apparent attempt by the office of the Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy, to lean on Newton’s employers to have him silenced. Nothing could better illustrate the weakness…
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DFAT briefing on the current state of ACTA
by Nic Suzor Today I attended a briefing session on ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement ) hosted by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). I felt it was a good meeting, and I really got the sense that DFAT were interested in public participation. There was a good deal of frustration on both sides of the fence – participants expressed serious concerns about the lack of transparency in…
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EFA alarmed at "creeping" clean feed
Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) today expressed alarm at the news that the Government’s “Clean Feed” Internet censorship plan will not allow Australian adults to opt-out. The filter, which will be mandatory for all Australians, was initially touted as a “cyber-safety” measure for homes with children. However, recent comments by experts have revealed the existence of a second, secret black list, that would apply even to homes that managed to opt…
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National Broadband Network submission
EFA has lodged a submission on the National Broadband Network proposal. In our submission to a Senate Select Committee investigating the proposal we argued that the proposed Fibre To The Node (FTTN) model would most likely grant further monopoly power to Telstra because it would require drastic modifications to Telstra’s existing copper infrastructure through which most landline calls to domestic premises are currently carried, modifications which only Telstra would want…
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EFA joins calls to publish draft text of counterfeiting agreement
More than 100 public interest organisations from around the world today called on officials from the countries negotiating Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) — the United States, the European Union, Switzerland, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand — to immediately publish the draft text of the agreement.
Help fight for our digital rights
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.