PO Box 382 North Adelaide SA 5006
Email: secretary@efa.org.au
Phone: 08 9458 2790 Fax: 08 9356 1247
Your volunteer voice on the electronic frontier.
EFA Newsletter - September 1998
There are good reasons for crypto export controls - if there are no controls
there will be anarchy. We can't remove controls from everything because
people want to sleep safely in their beds, and that's the environment we're
trying to give them ..... as a responsible country that can control
its citizens
Robbie Costmeyer
Director of Strategic Trade Policy and Operations
Department of Defence.
The Australian, July 14, 1998
EFA Newsletter, Vol.4 No.3, September 1998
ISSN 1329-6906
In This Issue
International Crypto Campaign
EFA is currently coordinating an
international crypto campaign
aimed at seeking a review of the Wassenaar Arrangement, an international
arms limitation agreement between 33 countries which is the foundation
for most national crypto export control policies.
The campaign has attracted considerable support from organisations
and dedicated individuals around the world who support the elimination
of repressive controls over encryption software.
An Experts Meeting of Wassenaar representatives will be meeting in Vienna
in mid-September 1998. It is believed that the Australian delegation
will propose that:
- Crypto using 40-bit keys should no longer be controlled (hardly a
significant concession!).
- The scope of the General Software Note, which excludes shrink wrapped
and public domain software from export control, to be narrowed so that
crypto software is no longer exempted.
- Intangible exports, i.e. via the Internet, be brought under the
Wassenaar umbrella.
Currently only the US controls the export of intangibles.
The Global Internet Liberty Campaign
is supporting the campaign and will
soon release a statement to be forwarded to the Wassenaar delegations calling
upon them to work to eliminate cryptography controls from the next revision
of the Arrangement. When released the statement will be available on the
campaign web site.
The Australian Crypto Campaign
In July 1998, EFA commenced a
campaign aimed at ending current controls
over the export of cryptography products and ensuring that no domestic
controls over the use of cryptography are introduced.
To date, the campaign has focussed on reaching key political leaders.
This strategy will be stepped up during the current Federal Election
campaign.
Objectives of the campaign are to:
- bring the crypto debate into the public arena.
- call on the Australian government to consult more widely on crypto
policy.
- call on all political parties to commit to unrestricted use of
strong cryptography both domestically and internationally.
- call on the government to:
- Remove the arbitrary restriction on application of the General Software
Note waiver under the Wassenaar Arrangement. (This restriction excludes
Category 5 Part 2 (i.e. cryptography) software from the General Software
Note, which would otherwise allow the free export of mass market
and public domain crypto software).
- Support removal of crypto export restrictions
from the Wassenaar Arrangement, which is due for review later this year.
The campaign is supported by the
Australian
Information Industry Association (AIIA).
As part of the campaign, EFA has released the
Australian Crypto FAQ which provides detailed information about
Australian cryptography policy.
Censors uncertain of their powers
The Acting Chief Censor has informed EFA that the OFLC Classification Board does
not know what its powers are and does not intend to find out.
In response to an application for classification of a publication lodged by EFA
under Section 13 of the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games)
Act 1995, the Acting Director of the OFLC, Ms Andree Wright, wrote that the
Board "is concerned" that acting on EFA's application "is probably outside the
powers conferred on the Classification Board by the Act". Ms Wright also advised
that "the Board declines to act on the classification application" unless EFA
obtains a Court ruling informing the Board that it has the power to do so. A
copy of the OFLC's letter dated 17 July is available at:
http://www.efa.org.au/Issues/Censor/oflcappl.html
EFA applied for classification of the Full Federal Court judgment in Michael
Brown and Others v Classification Review Board (the Rabelais case) in April,
following an article in The Age on 28 March 1998. The article reported that it
had been suggested by the Australian Government Solicitor and the OFLC that
publication of Court judgments could be subject to Australia's censorship laws
and that a Federal Court judge might have breached the law by publishing a
banned article on shoplifting in a judgment that upheld its banning. Extracts
from The Age report are available at:
http://rene.efa.org.au/censor/rabelais.html#fcpubl
There was an unusual delay of ten days in the Court judgment becoming available
from the Federal Court registries and a further six days passed before it was
made available to law web sites. While one of the three on-line law sites has
made the full judgment available; one has deleted the appendix containing the
offending article, and another has not made the judgment available at all.
The apparent uncertainty regarding the reach of censorship laws threatens the
rights and freedom of Australians to access case law. Many Court decisions
include details of criminal activity which could be seen to "instruct in matters
of crime or violence". While the current Board considers that classification of
Court judgments is "probably" outside their powers, future Boards may hold a
different opinion.
EFA believes the censorship laws in this regard should be clarified and that if
the Board is uncertain of their powers and statutory obligations, it would be
appropriate for the OFLC to take any necessary action to become properly
informed. It is not appropriate for the OFLC to require members of the public,
their clients, to obtain a Court ruling to advise the Board of their powers in
order to receive service.
EFA has lodged a complaint with the Commonwealth Ombudsman regarding the OFLC's
failure to provide either the service paid for or unequivocal advice that acting
on EFA's application is outside the powers of the Board.
Privacy Submission to Senate Committee
Privacy issues continue to be an important aspect of EFA activity. The
Senate Legal and Constitutional References Committee has commenced an
inquiry into privacy in the private sector. For details of submissions
to the Committee, see the
Privacy Campaign page.
IIA clarifies intent of Code of Practice
The Internet Industry Association (IIA) has issued a statement clarifying the
scope and intent of the IIA Code of Practice. The statement followed a
submission from the B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation Commission calling for ISPs to
take on the role of content cops in deciding whether email, web sites, etc,
infringe the Racial Discrimination Act and to deny access to users alleged to
have contravened same.
The IIA statement says, in part:
"In respect of industry self-regulation of online content, the Internet
Industry Association Code of Practice is intended to cover commercial content
providers. It will not attempt, nor does it purport to impose limits on what
private individuals or non-commercial entities choose to put on their
websites, send via email etc.
[...]
To the extent that laws exist within Australia that govern what may be
published in the media and in other forms, including the internet, then it
is a matter for individuals to pursue their rights under those laws where
they believe they have just cause."
For further information see:
IAA statement:
http://www.iia.net.au/news/980702.html
B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation Commission submission:
http://wej.com.au/adc/articles/internet_report.htm
EFA Response to the draft IIA Code:
http://www.efa.org.au/Publish/coderesp.html
NOIE commissioned report on Content Blocking
In January 1998, Senator Alston announced that a consultancy was being
established to provide the government with up-to-date advice on technology such
as filtering software and blocking devices. During
a speech in May 1998, the
Senator commented that this would add to their "understanding of the technical
means available to internet service providers to block objectionable material
when it is brought to their attention..."
The resulting report
Blocking Content On The Internet: A Technical Perspective
by the CSIRO's Mathematical and Information Sciences Division was quietly made
available on the web site of the National Office for the Information Economy
(NOIE) in August.
Unsurprisingly the authors, after no doubt considerable cost to Australian
taxpayers, state "Our conclusion is that content blocking implemented purely by
technological means will be ineffective, and neither of the above approaches
should be mandated. Any technology-based solution can be worked around - purely
as a result of the sheer pace of technology change on the Internet."
Nevertheless, in Appendix 5 the authors offer "A proposed framework for
International Cooperation" which is so incredible as to be laughable. It
proposes that ISPs in each country should know the laws of the every other
country and prevent material being sent by their system to people in countries
where that material is illegal. Apart from the implausibility of ISPs being
sufficiently knowledgeable about what content is illegal in other countries, the
authors were apparently not aware that censorship laws vary between States, and
between States and Territories in Australia. It is also unclear how the authors
expect an ISP to know where in Australia an Ozemail user, for example, resides -
let alone users in other parts of the world.
RMIT group report on "Balancing Community Values"
According to an article in The Age of 11 August, a report released by the RMIT
Media and Telecommunications Policy Group on 10 August 1998 claims that
"Thousands of Australians were missing out on the benefits of the Internet due
to widespread community fear about offensive online material".
On ABC TV's 7.30 Report on 31 August, the Group's Director, Prof. Mark Armstrong
(a former Chair of the ABC) said:
"It's [porn on the Net] not something that matters very much to most
of the politicians now, but if it doesn't matter soon we'll be sowing the seeds
of some real problems in community attitudes down the track."
"So long as the Internet is associated with what's dirty and sleazy in the minds of
ordinary consumers, our community will be too slow to take advantage of the
internet and that advantage is going to move to countries overseas."
These claims seem inconsistent with surveys carried out recently by market
research company, WWW.Consult, which showed that cost of access is of greater
concern to non-users of the Internet (18%), followed by indecent material (15%)
and privacy (12%). However, amongst users of the Internet concerns are response
times (26%), cost of access (20%), privacy (16%), indecent material (3%).
Also, an Australian Bureau of Statistics' survey released in August 1998 found
that the number of adults who used a home computer once a week or more, and who
accessed the Internet in the previous 12 months increased by 37 per cent (to 1.4
million) over February 1998.
On the 7.30 Report, Senator Alston said:
"I don't think it makes a great deal of sense to be heroic and to get
right out there in front of the rest of the world. I think you need to look at
what is happening both in terms of legislative approaches and in terms of
technology developments."
EFA agrees with the Senator in this instance and has ordered a copy of the RMIT
MTPG Group's report for assessment.
For further information see:
The Age article:
http://theage.com.au/daily/980811/news/news13.html
Executive Summary of the report:
http://www.rmit.EDU.AU/departments/mtpg/publications/intnet_content/ic_summary.html
(The full report is not on-line, and the cost of printed copy is $48.)
Information on www.consult survey:
http://www.noie.gov.au/reports/blocking/index.html#_Toc422907829
ABS Media Release:
Home Internet Use Grows Strongly
Call for EFA Board nominations
The Annual General Meeting of Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) will be held
on Monday 12th October 1998 at 9.00 pm EST on IRC. Further information,
including the agenda and details of persons standing for election to the Board,
will be sent to members at least 21 days prior to the meeting.
The positions of Vice-Chair, Treasurer and three ordinary Board Members will
become vacant at the AGM. Financial members of EFA are invited to submit
nominations for these positions. Self-nomination is acceptable and encouraged.
In accordance with the rules, the following members of the Board remain in
office for 1998/99:
| Chair: | Kimberley Heitman
|
| Secretary: | Irene Graham
|
| Ordinary Board Members: | Michael Baker
|
| Michael Malone
|
| Jan Whitaker
|
In accordance with the rules, the following members of the Board stand down, but
are eligible to re-nominate:
| Vice-Chair: | Brenda Aynsley
|
| Treasurer: | James Nunn
|
| Ordinary Board Members: | Mark Neely
|
| Greg Taylor
|
| Danny Yee
|
As well as Board Members, EFA is particularly seeking a person to fulfill the
role of Newsletter Editor. The successful person would be co-opted onto the
Board, if not already a Board Member. For further information, please contact
EFA's Secretary secretary@efa.org.au.
The closing date for nominations is Monday 14th September 1998, i.e. 28 days
prior to the AGM in accordance with the Rules.
Nominations should be sent to:
secretary@efa.org.au
Federal Election and Net Issues
With the Federal Election now set for October 3, the time is ripe for
Net users to make their presence felt. This is the first Australian
federal election in which a substantial segment of the Australian population
is online.
EFA will be making representations to the major parties to determine
their policies, particularly in relation to:
- Censorship, both online and offline.
- Cryptography
- Privacy
- Copyright and Intellectual Property
We will publish the responses in due course.
We encourage all Internet users to make their views on these issues
known to their local candidates.
In Brief
NOIE Strategy Paper
The National Office for the Information Economy (NOIE)
has released a preliminary statement of the government's policy
approach entitled
Towards an Australian Strategy for
the Information Economy. Comments are invited, but must be submitted
by 30th September 1998.
NOIE PKI Report
NOIE has also released a report entitled
Establishment of a National Authentication Authority - A
Discussion Paper. Comments on the Discussion Paper were
to be provided to NOIE by 7 September 1998. The Report
of the National Public Key Infrastructure Working
Party (March 1998) is also available from the same URL.
DES cracker book online
The recently released EFF publication Cracking DES - Secrets of Encryption
Research, Wiretap Politics & Chip Design has been scanned and put online,
with EFF's permission of course. Available at:
http://jya.com/cracking-des.htm
Why you should become a member of EFA
How to join
Membership of EFA costs just $20 per year and for that you get to belong
to the premier online civil liberties organisation in Australia; you get
issues of the Newsletter on line or in the mail if you have no electronic
address, you have the opportunity to contribute to the growth of Electronic
Frontiers Australia and volunteer your time and talents in this endeavour.
Please consider joining us.
Membership fees are payable each September and part fees apply to those
joining during the year:
-
If paid between September and December $20.00
-
If paid between January and March $15.00
-
If paid between April and June $10.00
-
If paid between July and September $20.00 (carries through to the following
September)
There is also a membership class of Life Member for which the once only
fee is $100.00.
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.
How to follow EFA activities
-
On Usenet, read aus.org.efa (and comp.org.eff.talk
if you want the global picture).
-
Follow the links on our Web home page at http://www.efa.org.au/.
-
Volunteer to help us. There's no better way to stay in touch than getting
involved yourself! Email volunteer@efa.org.au
if you are interested in helping.
About EFA
ELECTRONIC FRONTIERS AUSTRALIA INC. is a non-profit national organisation
formed in 1994 to 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. EFA is associated with a number of online
civil liberties organisations around the world.
EFA's objectives are:
(a) To protect and promote the civil liberties of users of computer
based communications systems and of those affected by their use.
(b) To advocate the amendment of laws and regulations in Australia
and elsewhere which restrict free speech and unfettered access to information.
(c) To educate the community at large about the social, political,
and civil liberties issues involved in the use of computer based communications
systems.
(d) To support, encourage and advise on the development and use
of computer based communication systems, and related innovations.
(e) To research and advise on the application of the law (both
current and proposed) to computer based communication systems and related
technologies.
Policymakers and media representatives are encouraged to contact EFA for
input and comment where relevant.
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.
Submissions to this newsletter are welcome. Ideas and brief
articles for future issues should be sent to editor@efa.org.au.
© Copyright 1998 Electronic Frontiers Australia Inc.
Permission is given for redistribution on networks, but distribution
via other media is subject to the written permission of the EFA Board.
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