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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EFA Welcomes PJCIS Rejection Of Facial Recognition Bills
Australia, 24 October 2019: Electronic Frontiers Australia welcomes the news today that the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) has rejected proposed legislation that would have created a facial recognition mass-surveillance system reminiscent of that used by the Chinese government against its own citizens in Xinjiang and Hong Kong. In its report handed down today, the Committee recommended that the proposed Identity-Matching Services Bill 2019 be completely re-drafted,…
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Interested in joining the EFA board?
Nominations to serve as Board members of the EFA are open and are due on Sunday 27 October 2019. The Annual General Meeting is to be held on Sunday 24 November 2019. Details of the format will be forthcoming. The Constitution dictates that at least five (5) positions are up for election each year and accordingly, there are five (5) Board positions open for election. All currently serving Board member are all eligible…
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Scheduled Facial Recognition Public Inquiry Cancelled by Australian Government
Media release: Electronic Frontiers Australia Inc (EFA) is concerned that a joint parliamentary inquiry public hearing into Australia’s proposed national facial recognition database was cancelled on Wednesday. The scheduled hearing was part of the inquiry by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security and it was expected to review two bills. These were the Identity-Matching Services Bill 2019 and the Australian Passports Amendment (Identity-matching Services) Bill 2019. Witnesses were…
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Media Release: Doctors, Lawyers, and Privacy Experts Denounce Sharing Patient Health Data for Secondary Use
Australia, Melbourne — Monday 26 August 2019 — EFA, Future Wise, Digital Rights Watch and APF today call again for a comprehensive review of privacy provisions for healthcare data. Following the HealthEngine scandal in 2018, and the recent use of Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) data to assist recruitment into research on Bipolar disorder, a Twitter user on Friday 23 August shared a SMS message attempting to recruit him into a…
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Help out EFA – 2 Volunteer Roles
Yep, it’s true. Your digital rights in this country are fought for by volunteers. And we need a bit of a hand. We have two roles we are looking to fill right now, a Volunteer Membership and Sponsorship Coordinator and a Volunteer Event Coordinator. Get in touch by Sunday September 1 to [email protected] – or before if you have questions – we are heaps friendly. Volunteer Membership and Sponsorship Coordinator…
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EFA Warns Chinese-Style Facial Recognition Is Already Happening In Australia
Australia, 16 July 2019: Electronic Frontiers Australia, the premier digital rights body promoting and protecting digital rights since 1994, has called for Australians to reject oppressive facial-recognition systems, like those use by the Chinese authorities to oppress the Uyghur muslim minority. “Last night’s programme on ABC’s Four Corners revealed that Australian universities, researchers, and technology companies are actively collaborating with oppressive regimes to use technologies like facial recognition against vulnerable…
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.