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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Online surveillance: what is the Australian government hiding?
EFA has suspected since the existence of the NSA’s global internet surveillance program PRISM was revealed recently by whistleblower Ed Snowden, that Australian intelligence agencies have been receiving information from this program about Australians. Australian intelligence agencies have a long-established close working relationship with their counterparts in the US and other Anglosphere countries under an arrangement known as ‘the Five Eyes’. Last week, Fairfax Media confirmed that Australian intelligence agencies…
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EFA Evaluation: Australia Post Digital Mailbox beta privacy policy
Australians can now register for the beta version of Australia Post Digital Mailbox. The service allows mail to be sent to you digitally, to pay bills, and aims to be your go-to storage solution for the business of life, so to speak: Copies of official documents, receipts, and family records, for example. It’s convenient, to be sure, but is this just making it a lot easier for the government to access sensitive…
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Is fair use coming to Australia?
This week, the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) released a Discussion Paper as part of its review of Australia’s Copyright laws in the context of the Digital Economy. As had been previously indicated, this Discussion Paper recommends the introduction of the principle of fair use into Australia’s copyright regime. As ALRC Commissioner Jill McKeough said in their media release: “The reforms proposed include the introduction of a broad, flexible exception…
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PRISM: the NSA is watching…the whole world.
This week’s revelations in The Guardian and Washington Post about PRISM, the United States’ National Security Agency’s top secret global internet surveillance program are extremely alarming. The leaked information suggests that the NSA has ‘direct access’ to the systems of the majority of the most popular online services on the planet, including Google (including Youtube), Facebook, Hotmail, Yahoo!, Apple and Skype, allowing them to access content and communications in real…
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.