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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Filtering forum in Melbourne this month
Public interest in the Conroy Curtain is still high. With election season almost in full swing, Australia’s political parties will be making their positions known. In advance, we’re getting together to discuss the facts, make some better suggestions for the pollies, and give a few hints on how the filter might be avoided if it eventuates. If you’re in Melbourne on the 25th of this month please come to our…
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More power to the mums
EFA’s Time to Tell Mum campaign continues to go well with over 42,000 people reporting that they told their mums about the Government’s dodgy internet filter policy. There’s still a lot of people to reach, but we’re very pleased with the impact the campaign has had so far. Overall, the feedback from the public has been great; we’ve had plenty of feedback along the lines of “it’s about time you…
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Time To Tell Mum Campaign a Massive Success
Just 24 hours after the Time To Tell Mum campaign has launched it can be declared a massive success. Everywhere you look there is evidence that this is one of the most impactful initiatives we’ve ever undertaken, with over 14,000 people telling their mums that Internet censorship is bad so far. We know from recent research this means 14,000 fewer supporters of the proposal. The campaign has been covered in…
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It's Time to Tell Mum
We’re excited to announce that EFA have today launched a new campaign to raise public awareness of the Government’s internet filter: “Time to Tell Mum.” The campaign features well-known comedian Akmal Saleh and exhorts Australians to tell their mums about the filter plan and what it won’t do for Australian families. One of the big challenges in the debate so far has been combating the myth that the filter is…
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AAT upholds EFA link deletion
Many people do not know that the internet in Australia is already heavily censored, even before the Rudd Government’s plan for mandatory ISP filtering is implemented. In fact, Australia almost undoubtedly has the most restrictive internet censorship regime in the Western world. Under amendments made to the Broadcasting Services Act in 1999, material rated as low as MA-15+ can be prohibited. More details are available here. In particular, material is…
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On folly, freedom and filters
Wearing my EFA Board Member hat, I spoke today at an event at Parliament House hosted by the Menzies Research Centre in a debate with Tony McLellan of the Australian Christian Lobby. The audience was primarily members of the Australian Liberal Students Federation; young Liberals destined for jobs as political staffers and politicians. Below is the text of my part of the debate. Let me begin with a short anecdote.…
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.