Articles

Anonymity online is important

Posted on April 30, 2021 | in Articles

Imagine if we walked around the real world with a small screen floating above our heads. That screen would update with a different set of information depending on who looked at you. It would always be above you displaying at least your name, the date of your birth, and the neighborhood where you live. Imagine being in a crowd at a protest, or a concert. Anyone’s, everyone’s details would be there. And of course, if the police looked that screen would fill with all sorts of additional information about you and the people you associate with.

Techno solutionism—very few things actually need to be an app.

Posted on March 24, 2021 | in Articles

Last week the Twittersphere and news outlets lit up, reporting that the NSW Police Commissioner suggested a mobile application should be created to verify consent between two adults before engaging in sex.

Facebook removed news—what now?

Posted on February 19, 2021 | in Articles

In the latest move of the flexing competition between the Australian government and Big Tech over the News Media Bargaining Code, Facebook has blocked anyone in Australia from sharing or viewing local or international news content.

All I want for Christmas is to stop normalising surveillance

Posted on November 30, 2020 | in Articles , Tools and Guides

Whether you’re stringing up Christmas lights, getting out the Menorah, or just enjoying the end of the rollercoaster of a year that was 2020, just about everyone will partake in a bit of capitalist indulgence in December—that’s right, the season of shopping!

The Privacy Act review could shake up Australia's value-based approach to privacy

Posted on November 27, 2020 | in Articles

When you look around the world, Australia stands out as somewhat unique when it comes to privacy. Why? Unlike most “western” democracies, it lacks a federal recognition of the right to privacy.

Parliament metadata report is a step in the right direction

Posted on November 20, 2020 | in Articles

The introduction of the metadata retention regime way back in 2016 was one of the catalysts for creating Digital Rights Watch. Mandatory metadata retention, for access by a list of agencies that could grow at the whim of the Attorney General, seemed like a bad idea to a lot of people. Turns out now a bipartisan Parliamentary Committee has accepted that this needs to change.