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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September 12 – Pre-Crime film & digital rights night in Brisbane, Sydney & Melbourne
Tickets available now via links below! Book early to avoid disappointment or lack of pizza. 6:30 pm at ThoughtWorks. Join us for Pre-Crime, a film where science fiction turns into disturbing fact as forecasting software, algorithms and databases quickly become the new fortune-tellers for future crimes, driving us to ask: how much are we willing to abandon for the sake of security? Followed by a discussion about surveillance technology, predictive…
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EFA joins Access Now & 76 others in asking Ministers to stop anti-encryption legislation
Today Electronic Frontiers joins 76 organizations, companies, and individuals, in sending a letter to leaders in the Australian government asking them “not to pursue legislation that would undermine tools, policies, and technologies critical to protecting individual rights, safeguarding the economy, and providing security both in Australia and around the world.” The letter has been sent to Senator the Honorable Scott Ryan, President of the Senate, Christian Porter MP, Attorney-General for Australia, Angus Taylor…
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Media Release: Doctors, Lawyers, and Privacy Experts Denounce HealthEngine Sharing Patient Health Data With Non-GPs
Australia, Melbourne — Monday 25 June 2018 — EFA, Future Wise and APF today denounced the actions of HealthEngine and its doctor appointment booking system which has been sharing patient data with law firms, marketers, and other entities with the flimsiest pretense of patient consent. “If this ethically dubious behaviour is technically legal, then Australia’s privacy legislation must be changed,” said Justin Warren, Electronic Frontiers Australia board member. “People have…
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Centrelink duty of care has failed, regardless of Information Commissioner ruling
Privacy rights groups Digital Rights Watch, the Australian Privacy Foundation and Electronic Frontiers Australia have slammed a statement by the Office of the Information Commissioner and the Privacy Commissioner that their investigation found no wrongdoing in the release of personal information by a government department. In February 2017, writer Andie Fox wrote an article that was critical of Centrelink’s controversial debt recovery program. In response, the office of the former…
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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…
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.