EFA has been actively involved during the last four years in efforts by the Parliament to deal with the vexed issue of interception of stored communications (e.g. email), and we have fought to ensure that there is an appropriate balance between protecting the privacy of telecommunications users and meeting legitimate needs for access by security and law enforcement agencies.

The 2007 Bill currently before Parliament includes major new powers for security and law enforcement agencies and significantly changes the existing “telecommunications data” access framework. It contains provisions that were not recommended, nor even mentioned, in the Blunn Report, and some provisions that are contrary to recommendations in the Blunn Report. Furthermore there are a number of technical problems with the drafting of the Bill that would create severe practical problems if implemented. Accordingly, EFA has recommended that this Bill be rejected by the Parliament. A Senate Committee is inquiring into the Bill.

See: EFA’s submission to the Inquiry

Filed in: Interception, Privacy

EFA has sent a submission in support of the Australian Communications and Media Authority’s proposed Integrated Public Number Database Scheme which is being established following the enactment of the Telecommunications Amendment (Integrated Public Number Database) Bill 2006.

Filed in: Privacy

The exposure draft of an Access Card Bill has exacerbated EFA’s opposition to the system. The broad powers to be granted to the Minister and DHS officers facilitates function creep, negates implied promises about limits on storage of information in the national ID database, and possibly even enables the collection of fingerprints, etc. Proposed offences are seriously deficient: some are unlikely to be enforced due to the nature of criminal law, some would criminalise innocuous activity, and some show DHS has no confidence in the technological security of the card system architecture and enable individuals to be prosecuted for events beyond their control.

See EFA’s submission on the Access Card Exposure Draft Bill.

Filed in: Privacy

Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) today expressed its concern at the decision of the Full Federal Court in the Cooper v Universal Music Pty Ltd appeal. The initial decision in this case held that a Brisbane webmaster, his Internet Service Provider (ISP), a director of the ISP, and a technical support employee of the ISP were liable for ‘authorising’ the infringing activities of users of a website which acted as an index and search engine for MP3 files located elsewhere on the Internet.

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Filed in: Copyright, Media Releases

A Senate Committee inquiring into the controversial Copyright Amendment Bill 2006 has issued a report recommending changes to the Bill. Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) today cautiously welcomed the report of the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee but expressed concern that the Committee did not recommend the criminal provisions be deferred until next year.

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Filed in: Copyright, Media Releases

The Telecommunications Amendment (Integrated Public Number Database) Bill 2006 was introduced into Federal Parliament. This Bill will improve privacy protection for telephone subscriber information stored in the IPND and will implement a situation substantially similar to that advocated in EFA’s July 2005 submission to the ACMA concerning data sourced from the IPND. Unfortunately however the Government has not addressed the related issue of Sensis’s collection of data directly from telephone service providers, not the IPND. Hence the Bill will not result in adequate regulation, nor result in a level playing field applicable to public directory producers. EFA considers Sensis should be required to comply with the same rules as any other public directory producer.

Filed in: Privacy

EFA is deeply concerned by the planned rollout of a so-called Access Card smart card linked to a centralised database containing identification, and other, information about almost every adult Australian and Australian residents. The proposal is flawed because it produces a “honeypot effect” - a highly attractive and richly rewarding single target for criminals engaged in identity theft.

See EFA’s submission to the DHS Access Card Consumer and Privacy Taskforce and EFA’s Access Card page.

Filed in: Privacy

EFA has issued an analysis of Labor’s recently announced scheme. We conclude that mandatory ISP filtering would not be effective in protecting children. PC based filtering remains more effective. Our analysis includes information about why that is so. Kim Beazley appears to have latched onto an ineffective and unworkable proposal issued by The Australia Institute 3 years ago and further promoted by the Family First Party 18 months ago. According to recent research commissioned by the Australian Internet safety advisory body, NetAlert, mandatory ISP filtering would still not be effective in protecting children and would lead to a significant reduction in network performance.

See also:

EFA’s Time Line of Mandatory ISP Filtering Proposals and Religious Right Group’s lobbying campaigns, 2003-2006.

Filed in: Censorship