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The Trump administration In the US wants to destroy net neutrality and give big cable companies control over what we see and do online. If they get their way, they’ll allow widespread throttling, blocking, censorship, and extra fees.
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Australia’s copyright law is hopelessly out of date. Things that we all take for granted – forwarding emails; quoting; making and sharing memes; cloud storage – are often illegal in Australia. Fair use would fix this.
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Who’s watching you? And what are they doing with what they’re seeing… and hearing?
Last month the Abbott/Turnbull government metadata retention laws kicked in. The implications for us as citizens, in what we like to think of, as a democracy, are massive, and disturbing.
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From 13 April 2017, all Australian telecommunication providers are required to collect your metadata and provide it to your Government. Many interactions we have in the digital world are being collected and stored by our communications providers, all without adequate safeguards. This program requires no warrants, has very little oversight and has received condemnation from human rights experts worldwide.
Read MoreThe Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade invited submissions to develop Australia’s inaugural International Cyber Engagement Strategy.
The Government’s Cyber Security Strategy, released in April 2016, recognised the need for Australia to partner internationally to ensure our international cyber engagement advances our interests, as well as our values. To this end, the Government committed to publishing an International Cyber Engagement Strategy, including taking input from a wide range of interested parties.
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There is no protection of freedom of speech in Australian law, unlike many other countries. There is an implied right of freedom of political communication in the Australian Constitution, but this right is about facilitating social democracy, and is not a general protection. There are many laws regulating speech, including (but not limited to) section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 Cth (RDA), defamation law and consumer law that protects against misleading representations.
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