Latest Articles

Breaking: press freedom in Australia

Posted on September 18, 2019 | in Reports

In June 2019, the Australian Federal Police raided the ABC and the home of a journalist from the Daily Telegraph. These alarming raids were undertaken because of journalists doing their jobs reporting on national security issues in the public interest, in part enabled by whistleblowers inside government agencies.

Major privacy concerns around national facial recognition database

Posted on September 17, 2019 | in Media releases

Digital Rights Watch have welcomed a move by the Victorian Government to control federal agency access to driver’s license photographs uploaded to the national facial recognition database.

INSLM Review of the Assistance & Access Act

Posted on September 13, 2019 | in Submissions

The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence & Security (PJCIS) has referred the Assistance & Access Act 2018 (TOLA) for review by the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor.

Invisible handcuffs

Posted on September 8, 2019 | in Articles

The regulation of technology capitalism is now a mainstream topic of discussion. Privacy scandals such as the misuse of Facebook data by Cambridge Analytica, the rise of right-wing extremism, and the diminishing quality of public spaces in the digital age have generated sufficient public outcry such that the Overton window is wide open. Aspirants for the Oval Office, like Senator Elizabeth Warren, are talking openly about breaking up big tech. She even placed a billboard in the heart of Silicon Valley with that slogan—the equivalent of a middle finger emoji at the elite of the technology industry.

Global coalition warns against internet shutdowns in Hong Kong

Posted on September 6, 2019 | in Media releases

After months of pro-democracy protests in the streets of Hong Kong, Carrie Lam, leader of the Special Administrative Region (SAR) government, has finally withdrawn the proposed extradition law that sparked them. But as Bloomberg reports, that’s not likely to stop the protests. Lam has not relented on key demands of the protesters, and is refusing to investigate police violence.

Privacy advocates welcome ACCC report into loyalty reward schemes

Posted on September 5, 2019 | in Media releases

Privacy advocate group Digital Rights Watch today welcomed a report from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on customer loyalty cards, which called into question the privacy protections provided to consumers under such schemes.