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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Civil Society Groups Oppose US and Australia’s TPP Proposal on Exceptions and Limitations
Civil Society groups from around the Pacific Region join forces to oppose the exceptions and limitations framework in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) proposed by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) in a new joint statement [PDF] [TXT]. It reads: We, the undersigned public interest organizations, oppose the current framework for exceptions and limitations proposed by the…
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Proposed National Security changes are a threat to civil liberties and privacy
Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) is deeply concerned about the proposed changes to National Security legislation foreshadowed in the Discussion Paper issued this week by the Attorney-General’s Department for consideration by Federal Parliament’s Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security. These proposed changes, if implemented in their entirety, would appear to amount to a massive expansion of surveillance activity across the entire community, accompanied by a corresponding reduction in accountability for that…
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EFA welcomes inclusion of ‘fair use’ in Copyright Review
Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) welcomes the decision by the Attorney-General to include consideration of the doctrine of fair use of copyright material in the final terms of reference for the Australian Law Reform Commission’s (ALRC) Review of the Copyright Act in the digital environment. EFA was one of a number of advocacy groups that sent submissions to the Attorney-General calling for consideration of the doctrine of fair use to…
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Telstra shows worrying lack of concern for customer data
EFA is concerned about recent reports that Telstra has been sending the details of URLs visited by all subscribers to its NextG mobile network to a third party located outside Australia. Telstra has confirmed that they have been forwarding this information to a Canadian company, Netsweeper, who they are working with to build a database to be used as part of a proposed web filtering product. Though Telstra claims that…
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EFA welcomes Parliamentary recommendation to not ratify ACTA
EFA welcomes the recommendation from the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties (JSCOT) of the Federal Parliament that Australia should not ratify the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) at this time. EFA Secretary Kim Heitman said, “The Committee is to be congratulated for its astute assessment that the ACTA treaty should not be ratified while debate rages in Europe and the US on its terms. In particular, the requirements that member countries…
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.