Category: Privacy

Privacy laws and breaches that infringe on civil liberties

Pirate Party Releases National Security Inquiry Submission

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The deadline for submissions to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security’s (PJCIS) Inquiry into potential reforms of National Security Legislation was August 20, and today, PJCIS allowed for the publication of submissions. Pirate Party Australia submitted a comprehensive response to the discussion paper.

In the lengthy submission the Party comments on many points in the discussion paper, including:

  • Strongly objecting to penalties for individuals who refuse to assist in decrypting information or provide their passwords, eroding a person’s right to avoid self-incrimination;
  • Strongly objecting to keeping all Internet users’ browsing and email history for two years, introducing an arbitrary violation of privacy; and
  • Suggesting adding controls to various powers that certain agencies have to breach individuals’ privacy.

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Pirate Party Raises Concerns about Cybercrime Bill Imbalance

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As the Cybercrime Legislation Amendment Bill 2011 has recently passed, the Pirate Party continues to advocate the limitation of surveillance to court-ordered specific cases where reasonable grounds for suspicion are provided.

Pirate Party Australia has previously recommended in 2011 that Australia does not accede to the Convention on Cybercrime due to it being “fundamentally unbalanced”[1].

“In our submissions regarding the Convention of Cybercrime and the recent National Security Inquiry, we argued – and will continue to argue – against overly intrusive schemes which would unduly put at risk the privacy of Australian citizens,” said David W. Campbell, President of Pirate Party Australia.

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Pirate Party Warns about Aggressive Surveillance Trends

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Pirate Party Australia is deeply concerned about the increasing international trend of widescale surveillance, such as the possible implementation of the Trapwire surveillance system in Australia, due to the significant potential for abuse.

Yesterday, the Sydney Morning Herald revealed[1] ties between a government contractor and a company manufacturing sophisticated surveillance equipment that claims to detect “suspicious activity”, which ultimately means activity that marks a person as suspicious without the person actually committing any crime. To increase its efficiency, the system collects information from its multiple installations and combines it, even across borders.

“These systems claim to detect ‘pre-crime’ activities and tag individuals as suspects automatically. Such systems, when deployed in the public space, are an encroachment on the privacy of the users of public spaces,” said David W. Campbell, President of Pirate Party Australia. “They have the effect of suppressing the legitimate activities of law abiding individuals, who become justifiably worried about being mislabelled and prosecuted.”

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Pirate Party Pleased with Data Retention Backflip

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Update (11:29am): corrected PR to point out that it was anonymous security bureaucrats who made the announcement, not the Government.

Pirate Party Australia are pleased with, but skeptical about, by the announcement by anonymous security bureaucrats that the Australian Government will delay implementing mandatory two-year data retention plans until after the next election.

Yesterday, anonymous security bureaucrats announced that proposals contained within the National Security Security Inquiry discussion paper to store the web history of all Australians for up to two years will be stalled until 2013. The National Security Inquiry has been labelled as “controversial” and the Attorney-General’s Department expects it to attract “significant public interest”[1].

“While we are happy that action on this issue will be delayed, we are skeptical that this may mean they will push the changes through quietly once no-one is looking,” said Simon Frew, Deputy President of Pirate Party Australia. “Given the very short timeframe that the public were given to hand submissions to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, we anticipate there will be minimal oversight when legislative changes are put forward.”

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Pirate Party launches National Security Inquiry Petition

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Earlier today Pirate Party Australia launched an online petition, objecting to the proposals of the National Security Inquiry. The Inquiry was referred to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) by the Attorney-General. The petition will be presented to the Senate, and can be signed here.

The National Security Inquiry (#natsecinquiry) proposes to extend the powers of Australian intelligence and security agencies, including greater provisions for telecommunications interception – such as accessing unrelated computer systems – and penalties for refusing to disclose passwords. The proposal may also allow intelligence and security officers to be shielded from penalties for misconduct.

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