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Your volunteer voice on the electronic frontier.
A. Well, I mean, to answer your question, I mean, encryption is - the political equivalent of encryption is you ask me a question, I give you an answer and you don't understand it. I mean, I intentionally garble the answer frequently. I intentionally garble the response so that you can't understand what I'm saying. And that's - you notice that I've got the ability to do that. I don't always do that, but that's what occurs with digital communication.
Your politicians represent you - or do they? We all know about the Senate Select Committee into the regulation of the Internet, not that its called that of course, it's actually called the Senate Select Committee on Community Standards Relevant to the Supply of Services Utilising Electronic Technologies, but that's what it's about.
The Select Committee members currently include people like Brian Harradine, John Tierney and Margaret Reynolds. The full membership list is available online.
The fascinating thing about the composition of this committee is where these senators come
from:
NSW, Qld, SA and WA provides 1 each, Tasmania and Victoria both provide 2.
The political affiliations of the members are Liberal 3, ALP 2, 1 each from
the National Party, Independent and Democrats. Of these, only the democrat
member lists an email address which implies some use by her or her staff of
the medium they seek to understand and, on the whole, repress. Tasmania is
known for its conservative societal attitudes whilst Victoria is on record
with the Classification (Publications, Films & Computer Games)
(Enforcement) Act 1995 which provides severe penalties for transmission
offences.
Why do they seek to repress the Internet? The facts are that it is a medium with which they have no familiarity as evidenced by the members', and indeed the committee's, lack of use of the medium. Most correspondence between the Committee's secretariat and the witnesses occurs by phone, fax and letter. In the parliament web page no reference is made to the secretariat's email address despite it being known to exist. The members, indeed all parliamentary members, have been subjected to the influence of sensationalist media, touting the ease with which minors can access bomb making recipes and "dirty pictures" and citing the presence of the hordes of child pornographers and paedophiles who seek to accost any and all of our children and our, as parents, absolute inability to control any of it!
Has anyone ever stopped to consider why the media might continue to hold this line in the absence of hard evidence about the extent to which the Internet constitutes a danger to us and our children? Could it be that, apart from selling their wares, it's also a reaction to the ability of the Internet to form opinions amongst its users outside of the traditional mass media which is used to having a virtual monopoly on attitude formation?
What can we do about this situation which has a group of people with the power to legislate the Internet out of existence, who have absolutely no knowledge of that which they seek to control?
We advocate that you adopt your local member!
Tell them, as your representative, you want to use the Internet to communicate with them and you want to see a record of their achievements, on your behalf, on the Internet. Point out that if they cant, then you will find a candidate at the next election who can.
In all correspondence and communication with your local electorate office, make sure you include or mention your email address as the preferred means of communication. If the staff continually hear about an email address they will start to think that they may be missing out on something. The political minders especially are sensitive to this tactic and will seek to redress any imbalance they perceive.
Offer to assist your member to learn to use at least email. Suggest that they set up an office account for public/constituents use and a private email address to meet their personal and family needs. Get them to institute methods and procedures in their office which sees them treat email messages from constituents as genuine communications. Point out that getting on the Net is not expensive and will not be a drain on their funds in fact it will enhance their ability to communicate with the electorate.
Work on them to develop a web presence at the electorate office level, after all that's where you want to get to know what they are doing and what they're saying, way off in Canberra or your capital city. Make them accountable in a very direct way. Offer to assist their staff in achieving this. Show them how easily a simple text based web page can be created and kept up to date. All that is really required is a will to make this a reality.
Getting them to use the medium will have the effect of reducing the unwarranted fears about it, whilst leaving them to address, as parents and politicians, those aspects which need addressing without the knee jerk reactions born of ignorance. It will better equip them to withstand the media hype and pressure from highly organised lobby groups seeking to censor the Internet
Join us today in the "internetisation" of our politicians!
Senate Committee Inquiry
On 26th February 1997, the Senate Select Committee on Community Standards
Relevant to the Supply of Services Utilising Electronic Technologies
announced
Terms of Reference
for Part 3 of its enquiry into Computer On-Line Services.
Submissions closed on 27th March 1997 and
EFA's submission
promoted a strong "hands-off" stance towards Internet censorship, although
the Committee seems intent on pursuing a strong regulatory agenda.
EFA, along with a number of other organisations and individuals, was represented at a hearing of the Committee in Brisbane on 30th April. A further hearing was held in Canberra on 5th May. The Hansard record of these hearings is expected to be made available online in due course.
The Committee is expected to release its report at the end of June.
In March 1997, EFA lodged a Freedom of Information request to obtain a copy of the Walsh Report. This request has now been denied, mainly on the basis that it is now claimed to be an internal working document. Security and law enforcement issues are also claimed as reasons for non-release of the report. These are curious claims indeed, especially when it is known that a public version of this report was produced which specifically sanitised the report of sensitive security issues discussed in the full version. The public version was printed for release by the Australian Government Publishing Service.
Needless to say, EFA is not satisfied with this cynical bureaucratic response to departmental obligations under the Freedom of Information Act. A request for review of the decision has now been lodged.
Meanwhile, it is understood that the Attorney-General's Department is preparing another "discussion document" on cryptography policy, expected to be released in the near future.
Australia has never had a clear statement of policy about issues such as key escrow and key recovery. The only regulations dealing with encryption are are export restrictions jointly administered by the Defence Signals Directorate (DSD) and the Department of Defence, Industry Involvement and Contracting Division, Exports and International Programmes Branch. Further details are available from EFA's Crypto Politics page.
Reports from crypto software developers in this country indicate that DSD refuses to provide written policies on export regulations. Australian developers are subject to commercial disadvantage and financial loss as a result of this lack of clear policy direction. In particular, Sydney-based Nexus Solutions has lost a major overseas order because DSD considered its encryption system too strong to comply with Australia's export regulations.
EFA has now implemented a closed mailing list for the discussion of crypto-politics and related issues. Contact Greg Taylor gtaylor@gil.com.au if you would like to become involved.
EFA has now joined a coalition of privacy rights, commerce and academic
groups that have mounted a campaign to have this decision reversed.
The campaign has now gone global, to the extent that
For further information, see the
Campaign page or contact one of the following:
| Chris Connolly | The Policy Network | chrisc@socialchange.net.au |
| Tim Dixon | Australian Privacy Foundation | tdixon@mail.magna.com.au |
| Kimberley Heitman | EFA | chairman@efa.org.au |
Timed Local Data Calls Update
Despite ministerial promises to the contrary, the new Telecommunications Bills passed by Federal Parliament in March,
provided for timed local data calls to business and also allowed carriers
to implement B-party charging, whereby timed charges can be levied on an ISP
for incoming calls.
The
Democrats have announced their opposition to these provisions and are
proposing to:
- present an electronic petition to the Senate.
At the centre of the all the issues confronting Australia's use of the Internet is the one Australian online organisation that fights for the rights of Internet users - Electronic Frontiers Australia.
This year, EFA has been campaigning on issues that affect every Internet user - the price of Internet access, freedom to use free cryptography, censorship of the Internet, attacks on the Net by pressure groups and access to government information. We'd like to do more, much more, but we need your help.
Your membership of EFA gives us support and funds necessary to lobby governments and manage campaigns throughout the year. Your active participation in EFA provides skills, energy and contacts that a volunteer organisation needs to remain active and relevant.
Please help us help you. EFA is a democratic organisation with Board members elected from our membership Australia-wide. You can make a difference with your subscription, with your promotion of EFA campaigns and with your active involvement.
To join online, point your web browser to :
http://www.efa.org.au/JoinEFA/Welcome.html
or send email to membership@efa.org.au
You are welcome to contact me concerning EFA campaigns and activities by email at kheitman@it.com.au or by telephone on (08) 9458 2790. I look forward to your feedback and thank you for your support.
Voters have the right to know the allegiances and private agendas of those who represent them in Parliament. Factional interests should not be secret.
We ask your help to determine the identities of Coalition government MPs who are members of the Lyons Forum by contacting those whose membership status is currently unknown. So far we have identified 30 out of a total membership believed to be about 50. Full details are available on the Lyons Forum page.
A membership strategy is being developed and will be considered by the board at its June meeting. The strategy will aim to address the following areas of membership:
One of the areas that is currently being investigated is the option for Membership Payments / Renewals via the Web (for Credit Card holders). This web page will also provide an area for members to update their details.
A part of the strategy will also include an opportunity for all members to update their skills and interests which will assist the Membership Coordinator in developing 'response teams' for campaigns, inquiries, etc. This will most likely be a part of the membership survey being developed.
Members are encouraged to provide feedback to the board directly or to the Membership Coordinator. To write to the board send email to board@efa.org.au. To write to the Membership Coordinator, send email to membership@efa.org.au.
Proposed new Rule 3 - Objects and Purposes
Please take a few moments to fill out the simple web based survey.
All submissions will be anonymous unless you specify otherwise. CDT will compile the survey responses and submit overall findings to the FTC.
The report raises serious questions about the added risks, costs, and complexity of government key recovery proposals. "Building the secure infrastructure of the breathtaking scale and complexity demanded by these requirements is far beyond the experience and current competency of the field," the authors note. "Even if such an infrastructure could be built, the risks and costs of such a system may ultimately prove unacceptable."
The risks inherent in US government key recovery proposals have even seen formerly staunch key escrow proponent Dorothy Denning withdraw her support.
For more info on global Net-muzzling in Singapore, China, France and elsewhere see Declan McCullagh's Plague of Freedom page or the EFA Censorship page.
EFA Board
Messages may be sent to the EFA Board at
efa-board@efa.org.au
The composition of the EFA Board for 1996/97 is as follows:
| Chair Kimberley Heitman |
kheitman@it.com.au |
| Vice Chair Brenda Aynsley |
bpa@iss.net.au |
| Secretary Kerrin Pine |
kerrinp@bns.com.au |
| Treasurer James Nunn |
jnunn@pobox.com |
General Board Members:
| Michael Baker | mbaker@pobox.com |
| Andrew Connor | connor@pobox.com |
| Jonathon Coombes | jon@orion.aljan.com.au |
| Michael Malone | pariah@iinet.net.au |
| Greg Taylor | gtaylor@gil.com.au |
| Danny Yee | danny@staff.cs.usyd.edu.au |
EFA on IRC
EFA conducts regular IRC sessions on Tuesday evenings as follows:
Servers:
Channel: #efa
Date: Every Tuesday evening
Time: 9.00 pm (EST)
Board members will be in attendance throughout the night on the channel and will welcome any questions, comments or feedback you may have. Board Members can be identified by the "\" in front of their nicknames.
The topic of the current discussion will be posted as part of the channel title.
At times the channel may become moderated (depending on the number of participants). If this is the case details on how to ask questions and comment will be posted on the channel, or ask one of the board members.
EFA Women's Committee
Over the past few months we've had more than our share of problems with
the efa-women-learning and efa-women-issues lists, but the Women's
Committee is pleased to announce that we're back in business and seeking
your input!
Please join in and share your problems, experiences, interests, knowledge and being with us all on these lists. For those of you who have asked to join but have received no acknowledgement, please re-subscribe.
We look forward to hearing from you soon.
To join the lists:
efa-women-learning
This list is for discussion of matters that concern newcomers to the Net.
To subscribe, send an e-mail message to
efa-women-learning-request@efa.org.au
containing the word subscribe in the body of the
message.
To post a message to the list, send to
efa-women-learning@efa.org.au.
The moderator of this list is Brenda Aynsley bpa@iss.net.au.
efa-women-issues
This list is for discussion of general issues concerning women online.
To subscribe, send an e-mail message to
efa-women-issues-request@efa.org.au
containing the word subscribe in the body of the
message.
To post a message to the list, send to
efa-women-issues@efa.org.au.
The moderator of this list is Spider Redgold she@b022.aone.net.au.
Membership Renewals
Membership renewals for 1996/97 are now overdue. EFA
membership is only $20 per annum. If your dues are unpaid, please forward your
subscription as soon as possible to support the cause of Net freedom.
You can renew your membership in any of the following ways:
Lost members - if you are a member and did not receive email notification of this newsletter, you are among the few members for whom we do not have a valid email address. Please contact membership@efa.org.au with your preferred email address(es).
If you can take a more active role please contact volunteer@efa.org.au to offer your services. We can really use you!
Membership fees are payable each September and part fees apply to those joining during the year:
Group Membership is open to associations and groups on the basis of an annual fee of $300 or $0.10 per member, whichever is the greater.
The form to complete is available online at http://www.efa.org.au/JoinEFA/Welcome.html. The membership form is also mailed automatically to anyone who sends email to efa-info@efa.org.au or netmail to efa-info at 3:800/846.
About EFA
ELECTRONIC FRONTIERS AUSTRALIA INC. is a non-profit national organisation
formed in 1994 to define, promote and defend the civil liberties of users
and operators of networked systems. EFA's members are Net and BBS users
and other people with a common interest in the digital community,
computer mediated communication and online information services. The
formation of EFA was inspired by the American
Electronic Frontiers Foundation (EFF), and EFA is associated with the
EFF and similar organisations around the world.
On the Internet, you can find more information about EFA at our World Wide Web site, http://www.efa.org.au/, or by sending email to efa-info@efa.org.au.
Ways to get EFA information via Fidonet:
Submissions to this newsletter are strongly encouraged. Ideas and brief articles for future issues should be sent to editor@efa.org.au.
© Copyright 1997 Electronic Frontiers Australia Inc.
Permission is hereby given for redistribution on networks, but distribution via other media is subject to the written permission of the EFA Board.
Views expressed in this newsletter are those of the authors only, and not necessarily those of Electronic Frontiers Australia.
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