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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Media Release: Electronic Frontiers Australia Welcomes Turnbull Government Support For Strong Encryption
Electronic Frontiers Australia welcomes the recent acknowledgement by Angus Taylor during Privacy Awareness Week that strong encryption is vital for safeguarding the privacy and security of all Australians. “Let me be clear about this, we support strong encryption for the security of information and the protection of privacy. We firmly believe that cybersecurity will be enhanced by encryption—it is a good thing,” Taylor said, according to ZDNet. While some other…
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EFA statement regarding proposals for the Australian Signals Directorate to be handed warrantless domestic spying powers
The proposal that the Australian Signals Directorate be permitted to access emails, bank records, and text messages of Australian citizens without their knowledge should be unequivocally rejected by all Australians. EFA is deeply concerned that this is yet another example of governments considering intruding on the private lives of innocent Australians and further eroding what few checks and balances remain. “I’m aghast that senior public servants would seriously propose this…
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EFA signs against Article 11
EFA has co-signed a letter, with 50+ organisations to call on Axel Voss MEP (Member of the European Parliament) to delete Article 11. Article 11 is a proposal that wants to demand licensing fees for sharing tiny snippets of text, extracts, even headlines, from news articles. It has been criticised over and over again: it will harm access to news and information by making it costly to support small publications, and entrench…
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Turnbull Hates your Privacy Online
We see today that the Australian government is still pushing for an encryption backdoor, and isn’t engaging with the Australian public about what they intend to do. The bill is apparently in “advanced stages” without any transparency on its impact to your privacy and security. There are signs Labor may oppose the legislation, so all is not yet lost. “Labor, which has typically supported the government in matters of national security, remains…
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Australian Digital Rights Organisations Call For Politicians To Clarify Their Dealings With Cambridge Analytica
JOINT MEDIA RELEASE BY ELECTRONIC FRONTIERS AUSTRALIA, FUTURE WISE, AUSTRALIAN PRIVACY FOUNDATION, AND DIGITAL RIGHTS WATCH In light of the revelations that Cambridge Analytica has reportedly misused the data of over 50 million people on Facebook, Australia’s leading digital and civil rights advocates call on all Australian governments and political parties to categorically answer the following questions: Have you, at any time, engaged the services of Cambridge Analytica or its…
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FOI uncovers a three month window to opt out of the My Health Record Scheme – then what?
More concerns than answers have been raised over the Governments My Health Record Scheme after EFA board member Justin Warren made a request for access to the “Operational Blueprint” through the Right to Know FOI platform. In it’s response to the request, the Government made the information public. Unfortunately for your priavcy, detail is light on and the information raises more questions than it answers. Justin Warren said “EFA are concerned that we…
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.