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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s313 Website Blocking – the Plot Thickens
Under intense questioning from Greens Senator Scott Ludlam at Senate Estimates hearings this week, the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Environment has revealed that there are three agencies that have used section 313 of the Telecommunications Act to block websites. These agencies are ASIC, as publicised recently, the Australian Federal Police, who the Communications Minister announced last year would be using this power to block ‘the worst of the…
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EFA welcomes Privacy Breach legislation
EFA welcomes yesterday’s announcement by the Attorney-General that legislation is to be introduced to Federal Parliament today to introduce mandatory reporting of data breaches affecting private data. This legislation has been a long time coming, having first been recommended by the Australian Law Reform Commission back in 2008, and EFA has been a strong supporter of the principle of mandatory data breach notification for some time. This legislation will require…
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Conroy calls for transparency on s313 website blocking
After lobbying by a number of internet users and civil liberties groups, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has told Computerworld that he believes greater transparency is needed in relation to actions taken by government agencies to block access to websites. Referring to ASIC’s blocking of 1,200 sites as a “mistake”, he said that he would ask his Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (DBCDE) to put forward suggestions on…
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TPP: The Biggest Threat to the Internet You’ve Probably Never Heard Of
Unsure about what the TPP is all about and why you should be concerned? Read this excellent article by EFA Board Member Angela Daly which analyses the threats that the TPP poses. Learn about the Our Fair Deal international coalition fighting against the inclusion of harsh copyright enforcement measures, of which EFA is a founding member. Watch this excellent video from our friends at EFF: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOSYMWf2drE Then sign the petition at…
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The Trans-Pacific Partnership: a knockout blow for innovation?
By Angela Daly, Swinburne University of Technology. Angela is a Board Member of EFA. This article was originally published on 24th May 2013 in: Free trade: it sounds good for innovation, doesn’t it? Well, not necessarily – and here’s why. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a free trade agreement under negotiation among various Pacific Rim countries, including Australia. The negotiations, which started in 2010 and are currently…
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New coalition to TPP negotiators: This is what a Fair Deal looks like
A coalition of organisations representing a diversity of interests have come together from around the world to ask for A Fair Deal on intellectual property (IP) in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP). The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a trade agreement being negotiated by Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Peru, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Vietnam, and the United States. The changes to copyright required by the TPP would reduce access to…
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.