Data retention has always been about a lot more than ‘national security’
Attorney-General George Brandis told us in November 2014 the data retention regime “applies only to the most serious crime, to terrorism, to international and transnational organised crime, to paedophilia, where the use of metadata has been particularly useful as an investigative tool, … only to crime and only to the highest levels of crime”. The […]
Data retention: universal warrant requirement is only effective protection
Last week’s revelation by the Australian Federal Police that they illegally accessed the retained telecommunications data (‘metadata’) of a journalist without first obtaining a warrant demonstrates the complete lack of effective protection provided by the current legislation. AFP Commissioner Andrew Colvin asserted that ‘the police officers investigating the leak did not realise they were required […]
Data Retention a boon for Copyright Trolls
As AFP Commissioner Andrew Colvin confirmed to a press conference in Canberra yesterday, mandatory data retention will include data that will enable copyright holders to chase people they believe have infringed their copyright. Communications Minister Turnbull tried to play this down, saying, “They do this pretty much in real-time, so the two year holding of data […]
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 […]
AFP pushing for invasive data retention
ZDNet are reporting today that the Australian Federal Police are pushing the government to pursue aggressive mandatory data retention policies, forcing ISPs to collect information about your internet use and preserve it in case you are one day suspected of wrongdoing. The article quotes AFP assistant commissioner Neil Gaughan as saying that they are pushing […]
