Greens Senator Scott Ludlam said today that he was humbled to receive Electronic Frontiers Australia’s inaugural Lifetime Achievement award for services to digital rights at their 20th anniversary celebrations tonight.
Founded in January 1994 to protect and promote the civil liberties of electronic communications systems users, EFA has grown to become the major voice in Australia promoting and advocating for digital freedom, access and privacy.
EFA chair Sean Rintel said the Board agreed there could be no more deserving recipient.
“No-one has worked harder and more consistently in the political field to create both positive rights and to campaign against limits to online personal freedom and security,” he said.
Senator Ludlam has worked tirelessly to protect the rights of individuals in the digital sphere by introducing the ‘Get a Warrant’ Bill into federal parliament.
“Law enforcement and intelligence agencies need a warrant to enter our homes. It should be the same to access our telecommunications data,” Mr Ludlam said.
“Australian law enforcement agencies were granted access to the personal information of about Australians 293,501 times throughout the 2011-12 year, without obtaining a warrant or having any judicial oversight.
“It quite clearly is an attempt by these agencies to capture, in real time, all digital communications by all people, whether you are a suspect in a criminal investigation or not.”
20th Anniversary Event Details
Venue: Varsity Bar (http://www.varsitybar.com.au)
Time: 6pm onwards