Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) today said that the latest in a long series of embarrassing data security breaches proves that the Commonwealth government can not be trusted to maintain the security of the proposed Health Services Access Card database.

"The government has dozens of databases containing sensitive and personal information about millions of every-day Australians," said EFA Chair Dale Clapperton. "Yet the government is unable to prevent its own employees from illegally snooping through personal records that they have no business accessing."

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EFA's submission to the Department of Human Services in relation to the Exposure Draft of the Human Services (Enhanced Service Delivery) Bill 2007 pointed out problems with the new proposed legislation, including privacy issues and over-reliance on questionable biometric technology for fraud prevention.

See EFA Media Release

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Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) is appalled by Friday's announcement that the federal Coalition government will force all Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Australia to provide 'filtered' Internet connections upon request. This 'initiative' is nothing more than a tiresome repeat of previously announced and abandoned policies, and comes before the government has even conducted their recently-announced feasibility study of ISP-level filtering.

The government has also failed to implement their National Filter Scheme, first announced in June 2006 and aimed at providing free PC-based filters, and they have now announced it once again. The Minister has no credibility in this matter.

'Internet censorship to "save the children" has always been a political "free kick" for both sides of politics,' said EFA Chair Dale Clapperton. 'It seems that in the lead-up to the federal election, the Howard government wants to be seen to be "doing something" to make the Internet safe for children.'

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During a speech to Christian groups, the then Prime Minister John Howard announced a plan to introduce ISP-based filtering on an opt-in basis. The Minister's formal announcement however, is largely devoted to announcing for the umpteenth time the National Filter Plan that is intended to subsidise PC-based filters. EFA has expressed its strong opposition to any form of ISP-based filtering, primarily on the grounds that it is a blunt instrument that introduces arbitrary and unaccountable censorship. A requirement to provide filtered services will also impose significant up-front and ongoing costs on all Australian ISPs and will further reduce access speeds. It will also expose them to legal liability when the filters inevitably fail to block inappropriate material. These costs will be passed onto consumers in the form of higher prices for Internet access. It remains unclear whether this sudden announcement is merely a political stunt to appease the religious right, but EFA will continue to lobby against any moves towards upstream Internet censorship.