CounterAct encourages the progressive and radical movements on the Australian continent to get better at digital privacy and security
You’re up for a human rights award!
We’ve got some amazing news to share with you. Digital Rights Watch has just been announced as a finalist for the Australian Human Rights Award. The Human Rights Awards is …
Open Letter: Facebook’s End-to-End Encryption Plans
Dear Mr. Zuckerberg, OPEN LETTER: FACEBOOK’S END-TO-END SECURITY PLANS The organizations below write today to encourage you, in no uncertain terms, to continue increasing the end-to-end security across Facebook’s messaging …
Australian digital rights organisations defend encryption
Digital Rights Watch and Access Now have expressed deep concerns about attempts by members of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance to convince Facebook to abandon its plan to introduce end-to-end …
Attorney General having discretion over prosecutions will do virtually nothing for press freedom
Digital Rights Watch has criticised a recent move by the Australian Government to allow Ministerial decisions over the prosecution of journalists. “Australia already lags behind when it comes to press …
Breaking: press freedom in Australia
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 …
Major privacy concerns around national facial recognition database
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. “There is a …
Global coalition warns against internet shutdowns in Hong Kong
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in the streets of Hong Kong, Carrie Lam, leader of the Special Administrative Region (SAR) government, has finally withdrawn the proposed extradition law that sparked …
Privacy advocates welcome ACCC report into loyalty reward schemes
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 …
Submission to Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security Submission inquiry into the impact of the exercise of law enforcement and intelligence powers on the freedom of the press
Digital Rights Watch and Blueprint for Free Speech provided a submission to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security Submission inquiry into the impact of the exercise of law …
Internet shutdowns in West Papua are within Australia’s responsibility
Following reports that internet access has been shut down in West Papua, Digital Rights Watch has called for urgent intervention from the Australian government. “There is a serious lack of …
Doctors, Lawyers, and Privacy Experts Denounce Sharing Patient Health Data for Secondary Use
Following the HealthEngine scandal in 2018, and the recent use of Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) data to assist recruitment into research on Bipolar disorder, a Twitter user on Friday 23 …
Feminist perspectives on cyber security
WILPF has produced a great resource on the militarisation of cyber space and the need for cyber peace.
Digital rights meetup
If you are interested in privacy and digital rights, join us at the Mitre Tavern on 15 August for an informal meetup. Everyone is welcome to come along, meet the …
Australians are increasingly concerned about expansion of surveillance powers
New polling shows that Australians have a high level of concern over legislation that has made it easier for the Government and law enforcement agencies to access their private personal …
Facial recognition expansion requires urgent review
Following reports that individuals are being forced to use facial recognition software in order to access government solar rebates, Digital Rights Watch have called for an urgent review of the …
Sweeping metadata laws must be scaled back
Amidst reports last week of the extraordinarily high rate at which the Australian Federal Police accessed the communications history of journalists, the Human Right Law Centre, Digital Rights Watch and …
Submission to PJCIS review of mandatory metadata retention regime
The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security is conducting a review of controversial metadata retention laws that require telecommunication companies to retain records of every single person’s calls, texts, …
XConf Australia
XConf is a one-day showcase of the latest thinking from ThoughtWorks’ tech community and provides a platform for passionate technologists who are looking for inspiration and a chance to network …