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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What can you do to help?
Ever since I became campaign manager for the EFA’s campaign against the Government’s mandatory Internet filter two and a half weeks ago, I have been overwhelmed by the level of enthusiasm and support for the EFA’s campaign. Accordingly, the most frequent question I have been asked is “what can I do to help?” Given this level of support and the desire of so many Australians to help defeat the Government’s…
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Next round of ACTA negotiations, Mexico: still no transparency in sight
The next round of negotiations on the secret Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) are due to begin this week in Guadalajara, Mexico. On the agenda this week are civil copyright measures, border measures, internet enforcement measures, and, very briefly, the issue of the lack of transparency in the negotiations. While much of the text is hidden from public view, the EU’s analysis of the negotiations was leaked late last year. The…
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Government: "Global Internet freedom" means censorship
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton yesterday delivered an important, wide-ranging speech on the subject of Internet freedom. Coming on the heels of the Chinese cyber-attacks on Google and other U.S. companies, and the increasing use of online censorship by authoritarian governments around the world, the speech draws a line in the sand and presents the USA as the global champion of online openness. Secretary Clinton Recognised that free access…
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The top 10 filtering questions yet to be answered
The Rudd Government’s mandatory ISP filtering bill will soon be introduced into Parliament, and we can only hope that the debate there will focus more on the real merits of the scheme – which are few and far between – than empty rhetoric about protecting children. When the debate happens, here are some questions the Government needs to answer under the glare of public scrutiny. 1. Given the trouble and…
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Senate Internet Censorship Petition
Electronic Frontiers Australia has today launched a petition against the Government’s mandatory Internet filtering policy that will be presented to the Senate of the Parliament of Australia. You can sign the petition electronically by going to the this page and leaving your name, postcode and email address. Please talk to your friends, family and colleagues about the problems with the Government’s mandatory Internet filtering policy and encourage them to sign the…
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"Trollumnists" and Censorship
Because mandatory Internet censorship is such a hot button issue in the technology community, the technology media has understandably provided their readers with something of a running commentary on the proposal for some two years. This has been great for campaigners who oppose the issue as it allows us to have a voice in ways that we can’t achieve on our own, and to be fair, provides an outlet for…
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.