ADVOCACY, POLICY & NEWS
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EFA condemns WA Police deployment of live facial recognition — an Australian first
23 June 2026 – Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) has strongly condemned the Western Australia Police Force’s deployment of live facial recognition technology in public spaces. In this Australian first, a marked police van will be used outside major events and in crowded areas to scan the faces of people walking…
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2026 Australian Community Attitudes to Privacy Survey: Insights from a Digital Rights Perspective
This post was written by John Pane, board chair of Electronic Frontiers Australia. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s latest Australian Community Attitudes to Privacy Survey, released on 28 May, provides a comprehensive overview of privacy attitudes and experiences among people in Australia and how they have been impacted…
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No Press Freedom Without Digital Freedom
World Press Freedom Day reminds us that democracy depends on people being able to speak, report, and scrutinise power without fear. Journalists expose corruption, inform the public, and hold institutions to account. In 2026, many of the most serious threats to press freedom are digital. Today, press freedom depends not…
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World IP Day 2026: Copyright, Creativity, and the Future of AI in Australia
Written by Julian Watchorn, Vice-Chair, Electronic Frontiers Australia. On World Intellectual Property Day, we are reminded that copyright is not a barrier to innovation: it is one of the systems that helps make innovation possible. In 2026, that system is under pressure. As governments accelerate investment in artificial intelligence, there…
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FOI Documents Reveal OAIC Echoes EFA’s Critique of the Government’s Age Assurance Technology Trial
Newly released documents seen by EFA and obtained by Cam Wilson (a journalist for Crikey and friend of EFA) —read the full Crikey article here — under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that internal assessments by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) align substantially with the early warnings…
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Freedom of Information Amendment Bill 2026 Withdrawn
Written by John Pane, EFA Chair. Following some very spirited debate today in the Senate, EFA is quite happy to announce that the Freedom of Information Amendment Bill has been withdrawn. In respect of Senator Gallagher’s (LAB) comments in the Senate today that “….the intention of the bill was to…
