Digital rights experts have expressed deep concern at emerging evidence that suggests there is an intentional disinformation campaign creating confusion around the cause of Australia’s tragic bushfires. “It is disappointing …
Open Letter to Law Enforcement in the U.S., UK, and Australia: Weak Encryption Puts Billions of Internet Users at Risk
Today, Digital Rights Watch joined 101 other signatories in releasing an open letter to law enforcement officials in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia expressing grave concerns with the countries’ …
Major amendments to encryption laws are a step in the right direction
A coalition of human rights organisations, telecommunication industry and technology companies have today commented on the proposed amendments to the TOLA (Assistance and Access) Act 2018, tabled today in the …
Police drones on public beaches are a gross privacy violation
Privacy experts have hit out at reports that Victorian Police plan to operate camera surveillance drones on public beaches over the upcoming holiday period. “This is a gross violation of …
Local governments need to act to protect the privacy of their citizens
Digital Rights Watch has launched a new campaign targeting Australian local governments over their use of surveillance technology, data collection and privacy invasion. “We are seeing a real-world effect of …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Lizzie O’Shea declared “Hero” for mobilizing the Australian public against the government’s anti-encryption legislation
Today, Access Now announces its selection of Lizzie O’Shea, an Australian human rights lawyer, broadcaster, and writer, as a recipient of this year’s Human Rights Heroes Award. O’Shea is recognized …
Statement on AFP raid of journalist’s home
“It’s incredibly worrying to see AFP officers carry out a raid on the home of a political journalist working to reveal an important public interest issue – a potential massive …
Digital Skills investment undermined by major parties’ digital rights legislation
Political announcements around funding for digital skills and innovation will be wasted unless encryption legislation passed last year is repealed, according to human rights experts. “Of course we welcome announcements …
Human rights online highlighted as a key policy area for the 2019 Federal Election
Digital rights experts are urging Australians to consider how political parties are protecting their rights online when they head to the ballot box. A ranking of party positions on key …