Data retention has always been about a lot more than ‘national security’
Attorney-General George Brandis told us in November 2014 the data retention regime “applies only to the most serious crime, to terrorism, to international and transnational organised crime, to paedophilia, where the use of metadata has been particularly useful as an investigative tool, … only to crime and only to the highest levels of crime”. The […]
Data retention: universal warrant requirement is only effective protection
Last week’s revelation by the Australian Federal Police that they illegally accessed the retained telecommunications data (‘metadata’) of a journalist without first obtaining a warrant demonstrates the complete lack of effective protection provided by the current legislation. AFP Commissioner Andrew Colvin asserted that ‘the police officers investigating the leak did not realise they were required […]
Government says NO to expanding data retention to civil cases
Just before Easter, the government announced that it will not be expanding access to telecommunications data (‘metadata’) to civil litigants. This is an important victory. Had the government allowed even a limited expansion of access, it would almost certainly have been just the first of a number of such expansions. It’s also heartening to see that, […]
Get a VPN today!
From today, 13th April 2017, all Australian telecommunication providers are now required to collect a whole range of your telecommunications data (‘metadata’) and retain it for two full years, so that it can be requested by government agencies. This data includes information about your phone usage (including texts and your location) and about your Internet […]
Bytes & Rights 2017 – Perth
The Bytes and Rights 2017 conference is being held as part of the Festival of the Web, an 8-day series of international conferences in early April in Perth. See the full program of Festival of the Web events. Bytes and Rights is a conference focused on the many issues around how society responds to changing […]