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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Stop the pirates? Behind Brandis’ copyright crusade
Copyright has been firmly back on the agenda in recent months. We’ve seen the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) release its report on copyright which recommended that Australia adopt a “fair use” exception to copyright infringement. Yet we’ve also seen the Attorney General, George Brandis, get more exercised about copyright piracy this month, and pledge to do something to address it: Australia already has a robust legal framework for the…
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Brazil – where the action is! Part 2 – NETmundial
I’m in São Paulo, Brazil at the end of the last day of the NETmundial conference, the Global Multistakeholder Meeting on the Future of Internet Governance. This conference was a unique event, created by Brazilian President Dilma Roussef in the hopes it will be the start of a lasting change in the global Internet governance landscape. The declared goals of the meeting are to formulate a set of principles for…
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Brazil – where the action is! Part 1 – Marco Civil
I’m in Brazil for the NETmundial meeting, also knows as the Global Multistakeholder Meeting on the Future of Internet Governance. The NETmundial conference was thrown together very quickly after being announced by president Dilma Rousseff late in 2013. NETmundial is an attempt to kickstart a consensus set of principles for governing the Internet based on the multi-stakeholder principles that have run the Internet so far. Underlying the meeting is a…
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WA Senate Re-election scorecard
As we’ve done with previous federal polls, EFA has rated a selection of the parties contesting this Saturday’s Western Australian half-Senate re-election. The Greens and the Pirate Party remain the stand-out choices for people concerned about digital rights, however the Secular Party, the Sex Party and the Wikileaks Party all score well, but have not articulated policies in each area. Click on the image below for larger versions and more details.…
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Thanks for the last 20 years, Michael
20 years ago, iiNet was still a very new small ISP in a suburban garage, and iiNet co-founder Michael Malone was one of those who recognised the need for an organisation to protect the online civil rights of Australians, similar to the role the Electronic Frontier Foundation played in the USA, and became one of the founders of Electronic Frontiers Australia. 20 years later, Michael has just announced his resignation…
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EFA Speak Out #4: Narelle Clark
EFA is very proud to present our next EFA Speak Out, featuring Narelle Clark. Narelle is a long-standing Life Member of EFA and is currently the President of the Internet Society of Australia and sits on the Internet Society’s global Board of Trustees. Narelle has over 20 years’ experience in network engineering and management positions at Optus, Vodafone and universities, as well as consulting with state and federal governments, overseas…
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.